Album: Tom Bancroft, The Ballad of Linda and Crawford (Interrupto)

Beginning with the rat-tat-tat-tat of the irresistible "Toxic Beaming Happiness", which mixes music written for the US pianist Geri Allen with an homage to Britney Spears, drummer/ composer/bandleader Bancroft has created a powerful yet playful concept album about personal/marital breakdown.

The music for Allen forms the bulk of the piece, with Chick Lyall making her original parts his own, but it's the variety of voices Bancroft writes in, and the sensitivity of the 13-piece band that stands out.