Regular readers will remember the high regard with which this writer holds trumpeter/composer/arranger David Weiss, currently heavily involved with The Cookers. In fact, virtually every CD he has made recently has ended up on my end-of-year lists. This first recording by his new club group is no exception. It features three tracks by the 2014/15 Point of Departure group comprising JD, Felder, Clohesy and the explosive Kush, and six by Walden, new guitarists Eunson and Reuter with the same bass and drums. PoD is a distinctive band in that it's based on updated material from the post-bop era of the late 1960s and early 1970s and gives new life and exposure to some marvellous music that went virtually unheralded at the time. Music that had strong roots in the tradition, but which took off into totally uncharted territory. So you have songs by people like Andrew Hill, Tony Williams, Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter (‘Two Faced’ is his) plus, for my money, the outstanding gems here which Weiss has unearthed, by Kenny Cox and the Contemporary Jazz Quintet, whose two Blue Note albums are among the label's best, but which Frank Wolff queried were jazz at all. Charles Moore was the band's trumpeter and his ‘Multidirection’ (especially) and ‘Noh World’ are heard here, along with pianist Cox's equally interesting ‘Sojourn’. Williams' ‘Pee Wee’ and ‘Mystic Knights of the Sea’ are also highly inspirational for the soloists. Both tenors are terrific, but the standout is Weiss himself, who has never sounded so confident or melodic. His most impressive work so far on record. And his haunting arrangements are outstanding. The CD is arguably overlong (about 78 minutes) and the guitarists are a bit too rocky towards the end for my personal taste but, overall, a superlative record and yet another feather in David Weiss' creative cap. Buy and enjoy!