Iain Ballamy already has a considerable output of CDs reflecting his very diverse musical interests and influences as well as his technical prowess. Tim Lapthorne, on the other hand, is a young pianist just beginning to make his mark. The link between their two albums is the way both players have made a deliberate nod towards the mainstream despite being players who are comfortable well outside these safe confines.

Ballamy is too distinctive a musician to produce a set of pastiches. Backed on More Jazz by the formidable skill of Gareth Williams on piano, Orlando Le Fleming on bass and Martin France on drums, this album, in which all but one of the tracks are Ballamy originals, has a depth and edge that requires careful listening. Neither the writing nor their execution by this quartet has the easy familiarity of the standards that Ballamy is paying homage to. In Tribute to Alan Skidmore's Tribute to John Coltrane he manages to evoke the spirits of Coltrane and Skidmore without falling into any imitative traps. The complexity of Ballamy's phrasing is deceptive as he executes leaps and embellishments with remarkable ease while maintaining his characteristic soft tone with rough edges. Convolution is a bossa that moves into unexpected territory and The Worm a delightfully complex blues.

Tim Lapthorne who plays keyboard with Arnie Somogyi's Ambulance, has, on Seventh Sense, enlisted Somogyi and his perfectly defined bass lines into a trio with Stephen Keogh on drums. Although there is more of a balance here between Lapthorne originals and standards, the energy and attack of Lapthorne's playing immediately recolours everything. Beginning with Monk's lesser known Bright Mississippi, Lapthorne displays an ability to mix Monk-like angularity with delightfully fleet passages locked together by dense chordal moments that give the whole the dimension and colour that is so often missing in other young pianists.

Lapthorne's own writing, as in Walking Wounded, displays an originality that also manages to maintain great depth and intensity. Throughout this album one can sense the total commitment Lapthorne gives to his playing resulting in a wonderfully fresh and accomplished album. Both albums are on the Basho Records label.