Album: Iro Haarla Sextet, Kolibri (Tum)

Pianist/harpist and composer Haarla has been an important voice for decades (she was also the consort of the late, great Finnish bandleader Edward Vesala), and the seven pieces here reflect her absorption in the natural world, with titles such as "Nightjar" and "Spirit Bear".

The former is a masterpiece of jazz reflection, with Kari Heinila's sax and Verneri Pohjola's trumpet creating a quiet storm of late-Coltrane intensity, punctuated by Haarla's spare chording.