It’s Clark’s 40th year in jazz and this is the latest in his succession of groups which introduce exceptionally talented young musicians. The band from 2015’s Jubilation, featuring Henry Armburg Jennings on trumpet and flugelhorn, has been replaced by an even more exceptional set of potentially brilliant young players, who are studying at either the Royal Academy of Music or the Birmingham Conservatoire, where Clark regularly teaches. It’s 18-year-old Sean Payne who opens the record with a long, superbly passionate ear-popping solo on ‘The Prince’. He has a unique tone. The only person he reminds me of is a young American named Godwin Louis (watch out for him!). In contrast, Alexandra Ridout, 19, is the epitome of cool, a recent BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year. Pianist Samson, classically trained, also has a very different approach, while bassist Owston, still studying, displays traits that could make him a major star – an outstanding technique, very much in the tradition of Dave Holland or even Niels Henning. The material is excellent too. There’s Kenny Wheeler’s cleverly titled ‘Foxy Trot’, the Ellington-Strayhorn ‘Star-Crossed Lovers’, a Don Grolnick tune called ‘Pools’, which suits the band perfectly and the let-the-hair-down closer, ‘Top Dog’, written by Ridout over a ‘Night in Tunisia’ groove. Clark himself encourages everyone and plays with taste, power and precision. I hope he’ll keep this group and let it develop and grow. This CD has given me so much listening pleasure, it has ended up as my Record of the Year.