A straightforward off-the-floor trio session, Live at de Tanker is a CD of intense unpretentious improvising encompassing compositions by Chicago's Amsterdam-tied tenor saxophonist/bass clarinetist Keefe Jackson. The disc is a reunion of sorts for Jackson and inventive drummer Frank Rosaly, a former Chicagoan, now a Netherlands resident. Third trio member is bassist Raoul van der Weide, a couple of decades older than the other two who has worked with the likes of Guus Jansen.

Van der Weide's experience means that he's unfazed by any unconventional patterns or pivots the other two bring to the tracks. He maintains a connective pulse with positioned walking thumps and downward string strums. Similarly discreet, Rosaly who also leads his own bands, usually bases his contributions around rim shot echoes, intermittent accents and clip-clop rumbles.

This leaves enough space for Jackson, who often partners with other Windy City improvisers, to open up the tracks with expositions from both of his reeds, sometimes on the same track. Able to switch from delicate puffs to harsh bites with his sax, and proficient in both clarinet registers, the most spectacular variant of his skill is on "Going And Caught, Together". Beginning with pseudo bird calls and mouthpiece sucking, Jackson soon deconstructs the theme into dot-dash fragments then judders the exposition forward with new variations. Combining low register snorts and tonal gurgles, he partners reed output with cymbal shakes and string reverberation to complete the narrative.

A distinctive instance of innovative tandem creativity, this trio set proves that if the company is right, profound improvising can be presented in an easy-going as well as an excited fashion.