Album: Big Air, Big Air (Babel)

Big Air are a supergroup led by the Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry of UK jazz, Steve Buckley and Chris Batchelor, who are joined by pianist Myra Melford and drummer Jim Black, with Oren Marshall's tuba parping out the basslines.

It's a terrific ensemble offering both oomph and sensitivity, as in the opener of Buckley's "The Wizard". Elsewhere, there's Balkan-sounding mournfulness, New Orleans funk, and slightly more indeterminate noodling than you want.

Pick of the Album: 'The Road, the Sky, the Moon': Ornette 'n' Don go Balkan