Bernard Primeau gets right down to it.

He assumed the leadership role and proudly introduced the compositions. He told a story about the rigours of the jazzman's life, then he counted off the time. And at the end, he singled out the soloists for applause.

But it's the two jazz classics, "Caravan", and "Naima", that received somewhat uncharacteristic and interesting treatments.

At one point, "Caravan" was all antiphonal honks and squeals with a persistently rocking rhythm underneath, while the last bars of the stately John Coltrane ballad, "Naima", were treated in this Alan Penfold arrangement with a near reverent approach to tones and tone colour.

Depending on how 'experimental' you like your jazz, the Primeau ensemble could be 'the' modern jazz group for you — the ensemble swings, the compositions have decent melodies and contrasting sections, everyone's a strong soloist, and the arranging and composing by trumpeter Mahar and composer Alan Penfold is judiciously spiced with dissonance and yearning.

Bernard Primeau calls their music, "modern acoustic jazz".

I say it's very enjoyable.