At the time of this 2002 recording, tenor saxophonist was 74 and had been leading the house band at Chicago's for 21 years. There has been no mellowing in his adventurous flights and , who has a huge tone and sometimes hints at and (to a lesser extent) , always pushes himself. His five lengthy originals are challenging yet loose enough for the musicians to be quite spontaneous. Trumpeter (52 years 's junior and sounding at times like early ) shows lots of potential, the pianoless rhythm section is stimulating and supportive, and guest helps out by playing acoustic guitar on and bass on the first two numbers. is a straight-ahead blowout, (which features two bassists) starts out as a before getting more heated, is a long jam over a one-chord vamp (rather than being an actual ), and is a mysterious strut with 's most rewarding solo of the live set. Saving the best for last, the final number of the CD, has some funky playing by bassist and drummer that leads to some colorful free interplay by the two horns over the walking bass. Although technically " ," the music on this lively outing should interest straight-ahead fans too, for these Chicago-based musicians are all worthy of greater recognition. ~ Scott Yanow