Things are not looking good for US saxophonist David Sanborn. After being hassled by immigration at the airport, he cut his lip shaving. Now the borrowed bass amp has blown up. The atmosphere on stage is tense. Still, he manages to blow hot and cold over a band that includes Richard Patterson (bass) and ex-Screaming Headless Torsos drummer Gene Lake. They move from acoustic jump-funk to organ-led shuffles via standards (Smile), descending at one point to Maputo, the kind of noxious smoothie they could play in their sleep. You can hear why Sanborn is a survivor in that scene - his gritty alto tone musters passion in the blandest of circumstances.

Part of his art lies in between the notes, the little grace notes and ornaments he inserts into the simplest phrases. He also loves throwing quotes into solos - High Society, a snatch of Get Happy, a whole medley from West Side Story.

Technical shenanigans force them to take a break, but when they launch into Comin' Home Baby for the second set it's like a different band: fluent, boppish, relaxed ... the sound of professional musicians having fun. Keyboard man Bruce Flowers opens out with nicely judged synth and organ work and some meaty acoustic piano, while fidgety guitarist Dean Brown delivers a blues-soaked solo on Brother Ray.

The leader shows his gentler, more melodic side on numbers such as Lotus Blossom. Yet there's something highly strung about Sanborn's performance, perhaps rooted in the fact he began playing as therapy (while recovering from polio as a child). He's back on form (the cut lip is healing), but you get the sense of a primeval struggle with the instrument, a mission to express deep-rooted emotions and sounds from the soul of the alto sax.