Perhaps at the forefront of (ahem) British Jazz at the time, this recording finds the Rendell-Carr unit in exceptional form. Captured at a point in time between hard bop and the split streams of free and fusion that would follow, Live at the Union presents a band firing on all cylinders and pushing hard against the norm. Recorded in slightly tinny mono, it's still very listenable and once your ears adjust, quite captivating.

"On" pushes hard from the get-go, these guys are all chomping at the bit. Carr's opening trumpet solo is choppy, with pianist Michael Garrick filling in the spaces, a little Monk-like. Rendell's tenor enters all Dixieland and then moves forward a few dozen years to bop-land. They are showing us the territory, a little impatient to explore beyond the map. "Ursula" is a lovely modal number with an easy swing, with Rendell on an appropriately eastern sounding soprano, and "Trane's Mood" continues the homage to the master after a weirdly baroque piano intro. Think Dave Brubeck sitting in with Coltrane. It's during this tune that things start to swirl, with everyone nudging the modality and rhythm out-of bounds. It also shows the humor these men played with, as Garrick starts ham-fisting his parts and Carr throws in a bit of comic mute wah-wah. It's as if they're slipping from serious, hard improvising into carnival roughhousing and back again before more baroque ruminating appears during Garrick's solo. Wacky. Then he amps up and speeds the tempo into oblivion, followed by the rest of the rhythm section. They'd all obviously been playing for years, and enjoyed each other's company.

"Webster's Mood" is a quiet blues before the rip-roar of the last two tunes. "Carolling" evokes its name with sing-song churchy chords and a festive melody, before letting drummer Trevor Tomkins have some. "Hot Rod" starts with 'London Bridge is Falling Down' and then switches to incredibly fast collective improvising, and much shouted encouragement during the solos. I'll never deride British jazz again.