The young US pianist who came to wide attention in Christian McBride's trio (McBride co-produces here) opens his debut as a leader on the Mack Avenue label with an expertly articulated solo introduction that could just as easily lead into a Bach fugue as into the hard-swinging, hard-bop trio piece that is Sands' ‘Armando's Song’. ‘Song Of The Rainbow People’ – also a trio – is a more contemporary, ‘riffy’ composition with some sensitive interaction between Sands, Baylor and Nakamura, especially on the outro. ‘Pointing West’ and ‘Freefall’ add Strickland to the mix, the latter having some spacey keyboard overdubs from Sands which, together with bass clarinet, expand the tonal palette nicely. ‘Óyeme!’ shows off Sands' skills in the Cuban style with Rivera in strong support. Baylor's clear tom-dominated playing suits Sands' clean articulation and means both players can play busily and at speed while still leaving some space in the music. Nakamura adds the warmth in support and plays a fine solo on ‘Bud's Tune’. McBride is a guest on the Bill Withers cut ‘Use Me’, and then just for an arco solo. This is a characterfully composed, strongly played, well programmed album from a young man with a bright future. He fully deserves the support of such a powerful mentor as McBride.