This is a young turks and adult turk meets a legend of jazz deal. The young turks are Mark Turner (tenor sax), Ben Wolfe(bass) and Clarence Penn (drums). The legendary one is tenor sax man James Moody. The man in the middle is Larry Goldings on piano. Those age differentials don’t make for much here. Everyone is on the same page sharing a like-minded sensibility. This is solid jazz, plain and simple. Primarily hard bop with a healthy dose of inspiration from Thelonious Monk. The latter is especially true of Goldings and Turner. Highlights include a rich version of “The Man I Love,” for which Turner and Moody engage in spirited trade-offs and “Hesitation Blues,” where Goldings struts out his down home roots. Turner has a vaguely edgy tone, his approach evocative of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. Moody sticks to the warm robust sound that made him a legend in the first place.
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