This is 's third CD this decade after nearly 20 years away from the music business, and it's easily his most consistent and satisfying date. Raw, rough, and tart-sweet a la , and searching like , Panamanian tenor saxophonist has his own sound that fills the air with saturated, spiritually oriented notes but never goes overboard with histrionics. What is most impressive is the togetherness of the band; trumpeter (on seven of the nine tracks) meshes well with harmonically, while pianist has the spectrum covered. Bassist is more than a foundation -- he's inspired, adding colors exponentially. The big surprise is drummer , who displays a fresh style of his own -- energetic, spontaneous, and beholden to no other, except perhaps the fire of . 's greatest achievement on this disc lies in the original music he has composed. The rousing waltz has a lilting, trumpet-led melody enforced by a deep ostinato bassline. goes wittily in and out of harmony on this tour de force -- a potential standard. A -ish 5/4 modal wail sets up the title track, while another modal, repeated-piano-chord framework buoys the clarion horn announcements during starts on a slower swing, then revs up high. is a good swinger, has a basic unison melody, and is a fleet, 12-bar hard bopper with hot solos and trading of fours with . Most like , (with laying out) digs into the swing standard and the ascending and descending melodic, tonic scale melody of is very reminiscent of in its execution and concept. These two tracks showcase 's expressiveness, which is not so much an angst as a reaching for undiscovered microtonalities. From start to finish on this very good recording, the players hold tension successfully and release it marvelously. They work as a team for a common goal, and use their concentrated energy to create bold new music done 's personal way. 's stark lyricism is a big factor in 's melodic style coming to the surface. It's quite a modern mainstream jazz statement. ~ Michael G. Nastos