(Self-released, CD, digital) About halfway through "Crossing Open Ground," the opening song of pianist Ted Perry's latest EP, Outlier, Drew Gress gets some bars to take his upright bass on a pulsating, bubbly solo. Then the Philadelphia-based session musician rejoins the band, and Perry and drummer Conor Meehan meander back into a groove, establishing the dominant vibe of the six-song album: effortless cool. So much of Outlier feels like a record that was in the bag the minute Perry started writing the compositions. While Perry, Gress and Meehan surely worked hard on their classy, erudite arrangements, there's no escaping the album's casually assured nature. As "Crossing Open Ground" winds down into "Maracuja," the trio gets a little spicier, with Meehan laying down a frenetic, syncopated beat for Perry to work his magic. And what magic it is. Though the Burlington-based pianist is hardly prolific — his last record, New Ways Forward, came out in 2008 — he plays with a deft touch and a keen melodic curiosity. Perry took up the instrument when he was just 8 years old, studied with classical concert pianist Anne Chamberlain and eventually earned a master's degree from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. He relocated to Vermont in recent years and connected with the Burlington jazz scene and other local musicians, such as Dwight Ritcher of Burlington soul duo Dwight + Nicole. Perry's expert technique and his ability to weave highly lyrical melodies and swinging jazz grooves drive the music on Outlier. Whether he's exploring space with slow, meticulous note choices on "Elegy" or getting playfully groovy on "Beneath a Cobalt Sky," his piano is the main character here. Stoic and subdued one moment, his playing can morph into the equivalent of the smartest talker at a party, full of stories and color and a sense of improvisational mischief. Meehan and Gress are more than capable of setting the scene for Perry. The latter bobs and weaves through the record's shifting rhythms, as comfortable laying the brickwork of the music as stepping out for a smartly taken solo. And Meehan's drumming is something to behold. Based in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts, he layers his playing with hints of funk and the occasional dynamic touch of a rock drummer. For all the deviations baked into Outlier, the album seems less intent on engaging with tradition than exploring the shape…