Finland's Verneri Pohjola got five stars in these pages last year for his sumptuously colourful big-band album Aurora. Ancient History is for the trumpeter's quartet with the daring pianist Aki Rissanen, and though it isn't as atmospheric, it has a comparable thematic strength and plenty of compelling improvising. The only cover is of Björk's lyrical Hyperballad, which Pohjola explores in half-valve slurs and sighs (he has affinities with Norway's Arve Henriksen and America's Ambrose Akinmusire) mingled with hints of postbop phrasing against a scramble of free percussion. Deism, the long opener, is a dirgey low-register melody rising to shimmering long notes; But This One Goes in Four is a bright, dancing maze with a hip-hop drums chatter; and the majestically dolorous title track simmers with the leader's bravura trumpet power and Rissanen's contrastingly probing piano. This is imaginative, beautifully executed contemporary jazz, even if it doesn't quite reach Aurora's mysterious depths.