Steve Swallow/Carla Bley Quintet, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club

There is no better place than London's infamous Ronnie Scott's Club to hear these jazz greats air their new and original compositions, from the 2013 album Into the Woodwork.

One of the most highly regarded bass players of modern times, Steve Swallow's distinguished career began with extended periods playing with greats like Gary Burton, Stan Getz and Art Farmer. In 1970 he made a permanent switch from acoustic to electric bass and became known for his distinctive sound and imaginative upper register work. More akin to guitar than bass playing, it's an approach that has won him countless critical plaudits among them regular wins in US jazz magazine Downbeat's coveted Critics' Poll.

Along the way, Swallow has also become renowned as an accomplished and idiosyncratic composer, the leader of numerous groundbreaking ensembles. His latest project, soon to be aired at Ronnie Scott’s, is a collaboration with tenor saxophonist Chris Cheek, guitarist Steve Cardenas, drummer Jorge Rossy and Carla Bley, a startlingly original composer and performer in her own right, who features on hammond organ.

It’s with this ensemble that Swallow released Into the Woodwork in 2013, an album of 12 original compositions that feature quirky, shuffling grooves, brooding chord progressions, and tender guitar and sex led ballads, their melodies drifting over gentle washes of organ. Among the tracks to watch out for is Grisly Business, a slow burner with a bluesy upper register melody line from Swallow set over an unsettling hammond organ vamp that recalls a broken squeeze box.

Beguiling and profoundly enjoyable on record, it will be fascinating to see what the ensemble make of these compositions in a live setting.