It's been four years since saxophonist Mark Lockheart's best-of-year Moving Air (Basho, 2005). Contrasting Moving Air's organic multi-tracking, In Deep goes for purer in-the-moment territory, with a traditional trumpet/sax/piano/bass/drums quintet that's anything but conventional.

Lockheart's ability to evoke a multiplicity of images with his music has been a marker with groups including his 11-piece Scratch Band and the Big Idea sextet that he formed to perform the more complex layering of Moving Air. On In Deep he proves that he is still a compelling composer, but the emphasis here is on playing, and he couldn't have chosen better partners, especially pianist Liam Noble. Whether in duet with drummer Dave Smith on the miniature, form-driven but free-blowing opener, "Stairway," or with the entire quintet on the expansive 10-minute workout of "Surfacing," there's an energy to the group and writing that may avoid harsh extremes, but remains exciting and filled with unpredictability.

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