Perhaps because his style of rhythmic conversation is conceptual as much as musical, at 81 years of age pianist Jamal sounds close to his 1950s Chess Records best.
It helps that drummer Herlin Riley and bassist Reginald Veal create such a monster groove-machine, but the real masterstroke is the presence of percussionist Manolo Badrena. The title track is an absolute masterpiece, the whole 10 minutes poised on one repeated figure. "Autumn Rain" and "Woody '* You" are almost as good.
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