This 2026 debut by stellar French pianist/composer Anne Quillier’s Argot Lunaire sextet is one of the year’s finest albums of Jazz in Opposition chamber improv spiced with Larks’ Tongues percussion clatter. (Haha.) The band straddles diverse forms with singular and utterly unique results. An unconventional piano trio is joined by clarinet, bassoon, and violin, but all the sextet’s voices are equal here, bringing energy, momentum, and high spirits to a consistently engrossing musical concoction.

Gentlemen pace yourselves! With an album this amazingly strong fresh out of the gate, you could condemn yourselves to the dreaded sophomore slump. Don’t fall prey to that cliché! (BTW what’s with the “Thirteen” title? This album is *not* unlucky! And did you realize there’s another band with the same name from decades ago? *Almost* as good as you blokes. I even discern some stylistic similarities. Greetings to Leonardo.)