The Lawrence Trio, consisting of guitarist Lawrence Ku, bassist Fred Grenade and drummer Nicholas McBride, released the latest album Clarity.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The opening song, titled Send-Off, is about departure. The dynamic sound, as Ku says, marks the beginning for the album, which "to me is like the start of an exciting journey into the sonic world of the record".

Goodtime Speedlove,a song delivered over a heavy back-beat groove, gets its name from a sweater worn by a waitress Ku met in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, a few years ago. "Our waitress' sweater said 'Good Time Speed Love'. It was like four words strung randomly yet beautifully together. To me it sounded like the name of a dashing super spy and I thought what a cool name for a song it would make, so when I was writing the track, I was thinking this could be a soundtrack for said super spy movie. It was perfect!" Ku recalls.

The trio also pays tribute to Israeli-born guitarist Oz Noy, who is known for incorporating a wide array of styles into his own work, such as funk, rock, blues, and jazz, with a song, titled Tip of the Hat.

Other highlights include a new arrangement of the Miles Davis classic Boplicity,from his 1956 album collaboration with Gil Evans, Birth of the Cool.The original style is a laid back swing but in the Lawrence Ku Trio's interpretation, it becomes funky and modern.

"It's a mix of some mature materials blended with great melodies and beautiful improvisations. Lawrence Ku trio is bringing great live music atmosphere to their living room or anywhere the fans are," says bassist Grenade on the new album. Grenade is from the island of Mauritius and since 2007, he moved to Shanghai and has been playing in the local music scene.