I
t sounds like New Zealand drummer Mark Lockett has been taking his Ornette Coleman pills, as he leads a team of David Binney/as, Duane Eubanks/tp and Matt Penman/b that sounds inspired by the early days of the pianoless quartet of Coleman with Don Cherry. The songs are all originals, so there’s even a hint of Monk angularity on “Post Gig Blues”, but make no mistake, the peppy bopper “The Crib” and the elegiac “Here’s to Ornette” give the hand away. Penman and Lockett keep it funky on “G&T” and the two dig in on “Happy Go Lucky”, with Binney getting acerbic on “Virtual Reality” and the two horns loose and dark on “Out on Parole”. This is their music!