There’s nothing particularly experimental about this all-original set, but the tunes are good, the grooves are chunky and the solos hit the spot. Star turn is the ever soulful and in-the-pocket Cyrus Chestnut. Warm, sophisticated and swinging on acoustic piano, he’s resonant on Fender Rhodes and equally effective on organ – check out the whispered support on the late-night ballad ‘Neo’. Roy Hargrove keeps it simple on his five guest spots and adds the occasional perfectly placed riff on highlight tracks, ‘“A” Theme’ and ‘Best Kept Secret’. But the real standout is the leader’s crunchy, deep-toned bass guitar and the spacious nu soul beats he’s crafted with drummers Jeremy ‘Bean’ Clemens and Gregory Hutchinson. It’s these that bring the best out of Stacy Dillard’s, bluesy tenor sax precision and sweet-soul Grover Washington balladry. Most tracks are groove based, though Saleem, a Roy Hargrove regular, bookends the set by showing off his straightahead chops and turns in a great double bass solo on ‘So Glad’. ‘Don’t Walk Away’ needs higher production values to hit home, but otherwise this is a solid coupling of soulful jazz and nu soul flavours.