Album: Avalon Trio, Forlana (Marquetry)

Great idea: an improvising trio takes off from the English pastoral tradition on tunes by Delius, Finzi and Vaughan Williams plus two originals.

There's an ECM-ish vibe with percussionist Rob Millet using his hands more than sticks and reedsman Tony Woods doubling wooden flute with alto and soprano saxes. But they get too jazzy too quickly: within a minute of the opening Delius melody, Woods sounds all Ornette-goes-Balkan, when soulful reticence is demanded.