The solo bass discography has grown to the hundreds by now and thankfully shows little sign of abating. Brit Paul Rogers has accounted for a small but compelling percentage of same, returning to the format several times since his initial foray in 1986, presumably when time permits and inspiration strikes.

What makes his more recent explorations even more fascinating within the genre is his A.L.L. bass, custom-built by French luthier Antoine Leducq with seven main and 14 sympathetic strings; as he told Kevin LeGendre for a 2023 article on unusual instruments published in The Guardian, "It's a weird combination of many things...The shape of the instrument is like a small canoe. It's like a medieval thing, really. But I listen to all sorts of music — medieval classical, Asian and African music — and with this instrument I can really find some of those sounds."

He does so quite effectively on the eight pieces of Peace and Happiness, each, apart from the opening title track, named for some synonym of either word, making a listener wonder if Rogers feels he has achieved a new level of synergy with both his creative self and his instrument.

The sound reproduction is incredible, as if a fly with a microphone is sitting on the bridge. And Rogers will keep the interest of those not already obsessed with solo bass recordings through a panoply of techniques: arco, pizzicato, extended, preparatory.

There are truly beautiful moments, shades of Barre Phillips, contrasted with alien communiqués, prismatic evocation of a sitar, avant choirs and even an afternoon jam on a countryside porch. But, spoiler alert, the full capacity of what individual and instrument can accomplish is best heard on fifth track "Truce".