Best known for his early 1990s big band the Whole Hog, bassist Stuart Riley now leads a promising and versatile octet of British musicians. Almost all of their material consists of Riley-penned pieces, and these confirm that he is a skilful tunesmith and arranger, equally adept with Gil Evans-like cool jazz, Basie-style swing and lyrical balladry.

Like several other English band leaders, he also has a dry wit. "This one is called Crazy Bluesy For a Blowsy Floozy," he announces at the outset, going on to explain that the tune was inspired by a group of drunken women who once angrily heckled him for using sheet music during a performance. Another is dedicated to an ear infection he once picked up, another to an eccentric sociopath from his college days. With introductions like these, the pieces promise all manner of madcap quirkiness but, in fact, most are dependably rooted in the jazz tradition.

Afternoon in Godley (a paean to prehistoric Somerset) is appealingly pastoral, with fitful shivers of flute from Ray Johnson and impressionistic piano smudges from Andrzej Baranek. And Crazy Bluesy is simply a good-natured and bustling bop work-out, free from the unhinged qualities of the ladies who inspired it. Still, the quality of soloing is impressive, particularly from saxophonist Mike Hall and trombonist Richard Wigley.

In the absence of innovation or edginess, Riley compositions chiefly distinguish themselves in their tightly woven contrapuntalism, and their lyrical flow of themes and ideas. But the one standard of the evening - a spirited blast through Gershwin's I Got Rhythm - suggests this is a band that would like to cut loose and blow a little more often. Perhaps they should heed the advice of their drunken critics and occasionally dispense with all those reams of paper.