Saxophonist and flautist Maude Caillat makes her debut album leading her progressive quartet on the ambitious Follow the Camel. A native of Switzerland who also lived in the West African country of Senegal, Caillat arrived in New Orleans in 2016.

This is very much a cooperative ensemble as all of the material was composed jointly by the members—Caillat, keyboardist Luke Palmer, bassist Sean Weber and drummer Moses Elder. Each of the musicians, who presently live in the Crescent City, singularly contribute to the highly improvisational approach to the music.

Let’s put it this way, these artists aren’t foolin’ around when it comes to freedom of expression and creative directions. The opening cut, “Dystopian Dream,” prevails with an almost hypnotic, spacey quality that is accented by Maude Caillat’s wavering tenor. As on several of the selections, it builds in intensity and in the end is happy.

More accessible perhaps is the melodic, quite lovely “Ain’t So Bad” on which Palmer’s piano offers a luxurious atmosphere. Another tune, “Eden Song” may provide an entrance way into the quartet’s freer jazz explorations. Here, Caillat picks up her flute, blowing short, almost humorous notes. The sound evokes images of the late great Rahsaan Roland Kirk playing his nose flute. The tune almost starts swinging when the leader blows sax and Weber almost begins walking his bass. Eventually everyone’s excitingly involved in the action.

Several of the tunes, including the title cut, which runs a whopping 20-plus minutes, tonally have a Middle Eastern character that could be attributed to Caillat‘s residency in Senegal.

Follow the Camel is an impressive debut. Its strength comes from the talented, obviously like-minded musicians on a journey of constant discovery.