Trombonist Mark McGrain shuffles around the outstanding band members of his group Plunge on its latest release, IN for the OUT. Working in duo, trio, quartet and quintet formats with varying combinations of musicians makes for a very diverse program that moves from bright to moodily and boldly intense. McGrain even takes himself out of the mix on several tunes.

The album opens with Kirk Joseph’s distinctive sousaphone matched with the wonderfully light touch of Simon Lott’s drums. Organist Robert Walker steps into McGrain’s composition, the upbeat selection “The Jilt,” before the trombonist enters. McGrain’s wonderful tone and exact pitch on the instrument is immediately striking.

The playful and rhythmic mood continues on “Monkey Mitts” that features the same quartet of musicians. It stays in that groove on “Schoolie’s Day” but adds another layer with Tom Fitzpatrick’s tenor. McGrain uses the trombone’s seemingly intrinsic trait of humor so effectively here and elsewhere on the CD.

Lott enjoys the freedom to really let loose on “The Speed of Darkness” on which reedman Tim Green, who sadly passed on just several months after this recording joins the group, is featured. The always spiritually inclined Green returns to play saxello on the much more dissident, organ-less “As Angels Roar,” and then picks up the baritone for the Latin-tinged “Exit Strategy.”

A four-part suite is perhaps the most challenging section of the album, though the pure musicianship lifts its essence. The most accessible tunes, however, are those that are the most melodic, such as the hip “Second Man Suit” and the lovely “Beyond the Night” on which the richness of James Singleton’s bass and McGrain’s lyrical trombone can truly be savored.