Michael Moore / John Pope / Johnny Hunter: Something Happened

Over the years, quite a connection has built up between musicians from Amsterdam and the North East of England. Further affirmation arrives in the form of Something Happened by a co-operative trio comprising American expat reed man Michael Moore and the increasingly-regular rhythm team of bassist John Pope and drummer Johnny Hunter. Recorded in a studio in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in June 2022 at the end of a six-date UK tour, the album finds the threesome in relaxed and inventive mood, having workshopped their material on the hoof over the previous days.

As befits someone with his long pedigree in the unruly ICP Orchestra, Moore proves at home in the broad range of stylistic settings offered by nine compositions from all three participants. Overall, the program impresses as tuneful and time-based, but with nods to the free jazz-improv nexus with which all are on good terms. As well as being familiar with the charts, they have reached a similar state with each other, as attested by the savvy interaction that informs each track. Just one example of many: harken to the drum colors halfway through "Some Moore / Middle Of The Road" in dialogue with Moore's alto musing.

Moore often tends to the sunny side of the street, even when the path becomes uneven, though there is no need to mind his step on the boppish opening "Providence," which belies geography with a dose of West Coast cool. Affirmation of his surefootedness, on clarinet this time, comes on the following cut, "A Simple Change," where a pointillist start, all squiggles, rattles and plucks, eventually coalesces into a hymn-like theme. His clarinet seems to bring out a more wistful sensibility, further in evidence on the prayerful "First Half Of May," as well as the dirge-like second part of "Some Moore / Middle Of The Road."

Sometimes the fractious and the lyrical exist side by side. On "May-Ting," another perky theme comes laced with squalling asides, a dichotomy reflected in the subsequent give-and-take, before a sorrowful conclusion in which Pope evokes some Charlie Haden-like gravitas. He and Hunter form an accomplished crew who can seemingly navigate any waters and are often called on to do just that. While it begins as the most fragmented and adventurous piece, the final "Bug Music" opens out into some spacious exchanges before an ultimate theme that almost suggests a Tin Pan Alley ditty.

A fun session with a serious side.