In the booklet interview accompanying this release devoted to improvisations based on themes by JS Bach, pianist Gabriela Montero contrasts her free-form method to the ‘background structures’ on which jazz musicians often depend. As such, she unwittingly pinpoints her strengths and limitations. At best, her stream-of-conciousness yields genuine surprises. Sheep May Safely Graze, for example, detours into a waltz that glided out of the Michel Legrand songbook, and concludes with a winsome, totally unexpected upward flourish. On the other hand, awkward transitions and loose melodic ends betray the shapeless nature of her harmonic wanderlust throughout Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. Latin-tinged rhythmic vamps tend to kill time rather than move it ahead. While Montero’s jazz timekeeping has improved since her previous EMI outing, she has yet to master the art of silence. The Debussy-cum-Prokofiev take on the Goldberg Variations’ Aria stands out for its inventive consistency: a fully formed masterpiece among works-in-progress.