Duo En Noir Betweenthelines ****This reissue of a long-deleted live session with Rava, the great Italian trumpeter and flugelhorn player, and one-of-a-kind US pianist Blake, is a telling reminder of what exceptional musicians can do with old material.

The mood is predominantly noir, but shaded with great subtlety and lyricism. Rava delineates material such as Nature Boy, Vertigo/Lauraand a glorious There's No Youand I Should Caremore or less straight (few can handle a melody like he does), with Blake's pixie-ish piano a superbly effective contrast. But when these masterly improvisers solo, full of imaginative departures and turns of phrase, they keep it succinct, and the brevity is profoundly impressive. They close in a sunnier mood with two arresting performances: a quirkily playful Tea for Twoand a gorgeously unsentimental There's a Small Hotel. www.propernote.co.uk