Although he's released a swathe of albums with his contemporary jazz ensemble and a quartet of collaborative sets alongside Warren Hampshire, "The Mage" actually marks Greg Foat's first solo full-length outing. It's been a long time coming but well worth the wait, as the talented pianist and producer works his way through an evocative set of tracks that variously touch on sax-laden funk breaks ("The Mage", "The High Priestess"), intergalactic synthesizer soundscapes ("Incantation"), slo-mo jazz-funk mood pieces (the spellbinding "The Magic Radish"), folksy ambient jazz ("Driftin'") and beautiful, pastoral pieces that recall Charles Stepney's work with Rotary Connection ("Endless Love", "Of My Hands"). The result is a fittingly brilliant album from one of British jazz's most talented participants.