Altoist Rob Brown is an old and dependable friend of Dickey’s, making his appearance on the project unsurprising. Bassist Brandon Lopez is a generation younger, but similarly plugged into the scene. Six pieces are credited to Dickey “in collaboration with Trio” and are very much in line with the energy-fueled, improvisation emphasizing vocabulary that all three musicians speak fluently. “The Outer Edge” initiates on a tersely tumbling roll from Dickey as Brown’s piquant alto alights and hovers with vertical bursts. Lopez’s fingers remain motionless for the opening minutes before busying themselves with a rich, anchoring line that accelerates the leader’s eddying and crashing beats. Intervals of tension and release follow around a drum solo that feels at once organized and pinion-averse. 

“Desert Flower” blooms out of incremental sounds made by dampened bass strings and brushes. This time it’s Brown’s turn to wait in the wings, leaving his colleagues to a conversation comprised of rubberized strums and swishing cymbal accents. Alto entry comes gradual with purring legato shapes threading through the resulting rhythmic thicket. Once again, there’s a palpable tensity to the interplay that carries over into the arco-driven threnody of “Plateau” where Dickey’s mallets and high-hat accompany a downcast dance of querulous alto. The sprawling title piece returns things to fertile freebop territory. Weighed against Dickey’s earlier work there isn’t anything here that strays far afield. Instead, it’s high caliber business as usual, and all the better for the consistency.