While not a live outing like Seattle, the project maintains much of the spontaneity of the earlier disc, in large part due to the band’s five-year hiatus and “in the moment” interaction in the studio. "We haven’t played in a long time," says Gully, "but it speaks to the band's chemistry that the tracks on the record are almost exclusively first takes." Locke adds, "We didn’t rehearse because we all live in different cities, so we just came in, talked the tunes down in a cogent and coherent way, and recorded them.” Of the 8 tracks, Locke composed four, Keezer contributes two, and the band covers Coltrane’s “Naima” and Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek.”

 The disc opens with Locke’s title track, the music bouncing with joy, which Locke describes as the “ebb and flow of communication (simplicity and complexity), expressed in a way that can hopefully be felt without thinking too much.” His “The Lost Lenore,” referencing Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven,” is a hauntingly beautiful work, originally recorded by the Storms and Nocturnes trio, “ a bit more urban if still brooding,” Joe notes. Also reworked from a Storms and Nocturnes recording, Locke’s orchestral “Her Sanctuary” features a keyboard tour de force from Keezer and a ferocious popping break from Gully. For the disc finale, Locke drew inspiration from “two amazing women,” reporter Keiko Morris and soul vocalist Bettye Lavette, as well as a poem by William Carlos Williams that supplied the title, “This Is Just to Say.” And it’s a song awaiting lyrics with the feel of a spiritual and a bit of indie rock ballad; the combination of Rhodes and vibes conjures an organ—perfect for an indie rock spiritual.

Keezer’s “Darth Alexis” (so named for his wife’s car, a Lexus dubbed Darth) was originally composed for a Chamber Music America grant in 2007. In this arrangement, Locke whips out a no-holds-barred solo; Gully engages in a prolonged dialogue with Keezer and Pope (on electric bass), creating a dark and frenetic energy. Another reworking of an earlier composition, Keezer’s “Terraces” is arguably the centerpiece of the set. Pope twists inside-out on electric bass, while Keezer generates urgent statements. Locke and Keezer trade quickly-generated ideas that flow into each other without losing their separate identities, and Keezer particularly creates “terraces” of phrases, descending layers of quickly articulated passages.

The two covers are among the most elegant tracks. Locke’s arrangement of “Naima” (originally commissioned for the Scottish National Orchestra) features Locke’s billowing introduction, followed by Keezer’s multi-faceted improvisation that yields to Locke’s beautiful finish. Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek” (which Keezer notes is a literal transcription) starts in church as a hymnal vibes and Rhodes duet, moving gradually into overt quartet interaction; Pope’s electric bass and Gully’s mildly funk beats add a gospel-inflected R&B sheen.

The format belongs to the Modern Jazz Quartet. The elegance injected with a spiritual groove belongs uniquely to the Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group.