I don't know that he "floats over" the time as much as he does play in it at different spots than most people find. The only way to do that is to have complete awareness of the time internally. Same thing with totality. He can slip in and out of it at will. At will.
His Steeplechase albums usually focus on standard repertoire and more traditional rhythm sections, so it might be easier to hear how that all plays out (no pun intended) there.