's fourth studio album has a split personality, with three tracks featuring an intriguing sextet of all-stars, and the rest with his trusty trio, done eight months apart. Perhaps the tracks with bassist and drummer were leftovers from a prior incomplete or aborted full session, but anything played in this period was precious. The larger ensemble recordings present trumpeter as ostensible co-leader, composer of one selection, and lead soloist. Tenor saxophonist and alto saxophonist join forces with to make what some might deem an unlikely front-line triad, but effective enough considering their established individualism. Bassist support the six-piece band, the first and only appearance for with while the pianist was still with . The jewel in this collection is 's a keeper that his big bands played prolifically later in life. Here the sextet hits the modal 3/4 beat with a thinner harmony under the lithe, soaring, enduring, and beautiful melody line. The contribution is an easy, basic, and short 12-bar chart with a phenomenal solo from , while is a down-the-Nile signature sound for the controlled modal power wields, with belting out his bopping solo. The trio tracks are standards done with hints of other songs to begin with. fools you into thinking he's taking off on when it's actually ; has an improvised modal starting point that is quite spontaneous; and the chiming, wanton ballad drips with all the pure emotion that can wring out of a weepy piano. The musicianship is so strong that it's hard to deny the high quality of what is presented here. ~ Michael G. Nastos