CD CHOICE: Christian Muthspiel's Yodel Group, May, Material ****

If, as Harry Lime, aka OrsonWelles, said in The Third Man, 500 years of Swiss brotherly love, peace and democracy produced the cuckoo clock, then anything is possible.

But Austrian jazz trombonist and pianist Christian Muthspiel, who comes from a family steeped in the yodelling tradition – his father collected, published, composed and performed yodels – did much more than simply jazz up or burlesque a folk heritage. He set about creating some superbly adventurous jazz from it by assembling a sextet of free spirits and giving them a context which mixed regard for the unique regional material with space for the wit and freewheeling creativity of jazz. He picked the boundary- stretchers well. Drummer Bobby Previte and electric bassist Brad Jones are among the more unpredictable New York musical guerillas, the wonderful Mathieu Michel (trumpet/flügelhorn) and Franck Tortiller (vibes) come from the Franco-Swiss avant garde, and Muthspiel and the fiery Gerald Preinfalk (clarinet/bass clarinet/ soprano/alto) are Austrian iconoclasts who have the wherewithal to take aim at anything.

Muthspiel uses the possibilities offered by the material, the harmonic and instrumental colour available, and the diverse musical personalities in the sextet, with a sure sense of what he's about. Order, beauty and deftly judged slash-and-burn – mostly provided by the incendiary Preinfalk, who is outstanding – are shrewdly contrasted and made part of the whole canvas from the opening Der Mai-Jodler on. The light-and- shade approach reaches subversive peaks on Der Königsberger, Der Gusswerkerand the penultimate Der Langenwanger.But Muthspiel's multifaceted arrangements also catch the melancholy elegance of the lovely Der Ho-Re Mäher-Jodlerand the rich and fruity miniature Der Kogler.

What they all have in common is consistently high-calibre soloing, both “inside” and “outside”, and ensembles, written or improvised, that are extraordinarily cohesive and beautifully played. Iconoclasm is all very well, but the only image being shattered here is the touristic yodel stereotype.

There’s not a piece of lederhosen in sight. Or a cuckoo clock. See materialrecords.com