Allison Au plays a sleek and warm alto sax not dissimilar to Phil Woods, leading a quartet with Todd Pentney/p-key, Jon Maharaj/b and Fabio Ragnelli/dr through ten of her compositions. Except for the synthetic spaciness of the opening track “The Valley,” the pieces have mostly an acoustic post bop feel. Pentney’s piano is glassy on “A Trick of the Moonlight” and does a nice work on the intricate lines of “Looking Up.” Au is rich over Ragnelli’s busy sticks on “Red Herring” and is soft alongside Maharaj’s bass line that pulsates on the gentle “Morning.” Placid waters with a dash of ripples.