A trio of this quality could have stood alone last night, but the addition of drummer Mark Sanders and double-bassist John Edwards guaranteed moments of extra satisfaction.

As free-improv anchormen, for want of a better description, these two are hard to beat. They've worked together for years and intuitively know how best to shape a group performance.

Starting 35 minutes late, the group sounded edgy. Bates pounded the piano with nervous abandon while squealing US altoist Berne and squawking UK tenorist Parker struggled for symmetry.

Parker was less dominant than usual, using his circular-breathing technique only sparingly, and most of the group's energy came from Edwards, slapping the bass between notes and power-strumming the strings furiously.

Sanders, content to create an illusion of momentum, set up an undercurrent of rumbling, chattering beats, but he can groove when he wants to. At one point he and Edwards managed to steer everybody into an exultant passage of collective swing, just as Don Moye and Malachi Favors often did with the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

Bates finally discovered a series of dark, stately chords that suggested harmonic resolution. The horns seized upon this, then the bass, and finally, with a whisp of his ride cymbal, the shrewd Sanders put it all to rest. As with criticism, knowing when to stop is everything.