Like his near-contemporary Alan Broadbent, or from an earlier generation Clare Fischer, New York-based Mays' reputation as a composer-arranger makes it easy to overlook what an excellent pianist he is. Here, there may be distant hints of Bill Evans who is specifically celebrated, as is Lennie Tristano by the Mays original ‘Sun Of The East’, but what you get is basically some very energetic, very expert post-bop playing with a highly attuned rhythm-section. The repertoire also includes inventive versions of standards by Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Mercer and Wayne Shorter and then, when least expected, the closing number includes Mays' very credible impersonation of Bob Dorough singing on his tune ‘Nothing Like You’. Dorough was, along with Phil Woods, one of the linchpins of the annual Celebration Of The Arts (COTA) festival, whose 2018 Mays gig took place at the famous Deer Head Inn – where Keith Jarrett recorded an album in 1992. By comparison, the present set is very refreshing.