Prior to this, I knew nothing of O’Connell but Wikipedia tells me that he’s principally associated with Latin jazz and hard bop, so that’s OK then. His website stresses his Latin connections including lengthy periods with the likes of Mongo Santamaria and Dave Valentin while Lord’s discography has him down for 104 sessions and 13 dates as a leader. A passing glance shows the Latin element as predominant.

O’Connell, a New Yorker born in 1953, seems to have moved from post-bop including stints with Sonny Rollins and Chet Baker and back into the Latin maelstrom at will. Yet despite this impressive discography and ongoing presence on the New York scene as both player and educator, he seems never to have troubled the encyclopaedists or jazz reviewers much. He opens with a splashy, not to say effusive, look at Coltrane’s ‘Moment’s Notice’, with Handy joining him on piercing soprano and occasional tenor on later numbers, ex-Rollins drummer Jordan clattery but effective. Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ works rather well as does O’Connell’s ‘Covid Blues’, the effect more measured and quite temperate. And yes, he swings. I liked his version of ‘My Foolish Heart’ given a stomping going-over, Jordan in funk mode. Intriguing, and surprisingly varied.