As one of the secret weapons in Orrin Evans’ twice Grammy-nominated Captain Black Big Band, alto saxophonist Caleb Wheeler Curtis has established himself as a fiery and forward-thinking improviser with a great deal to say. His third release on Evans’ Imani label finds him leading a formidable line-up with Evans on piano, Eric Revis on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. While his previous outings, Brothers and Ain’t No Storm, featured larger units with at least one additional horn, Heatmap highlights Curtis in a more exposed setting, along the lines of his duo release Substrate and his recordings with the collaborative trio Ember. The all-original programme toggles between slow and reflective melodies such as “Limestone”, “Trees for the Forest”, “Whisperchant” and “Tossed Aside”, and the more agitated, open-form approach of “Trembling”, “Surrounding” and “C(o)urses”. (“Trees” and “C(o)urses” feature Curtis on soprano sax.) It’s significant that on the opening title track, Curtis is silent for nearly three minutes, leaving space for Evans to set the tone in terms of harmony and mood. When Curtis does play, he doesn’t hold back, conveying a sense of yearning, clarity, lyricism and risk.