The final track of this excellent contemporary mainstream CD is a rousing re-make of the Gene Ammons/Sonny Stitt two-tenor sax joust ‘Blues Up and Down’. As on the original Argo release, Stephens and Smith are handin-glove on the theme and deliver free-booting solos with a contrasting tone. But there the similarities end. But what was once a throwaway blues is now knowing and constructed with care. This is very much music for our times. The album opens with the winsome and beautifully harmonised, ‘Seems Like Yesterday’, with loping rhythms and upward moving harmonies bringing out the contrast between Stephens' darker sound and Smith's airy flourishes. ‘Uncle Junior’, a sparky waltz, adds the whine of Mike Moreno's guitar, ‘Contrafact’ features tricky counterpoint and baritone sax while ‘Our World’ is a sustained reverie. And there's a lovely reading of ‘Blue in Green’, an album highlight featuring Stephens on baritone and a Bill Evanesque solo from Aaron Parks. But what really impresses is the attention to detail and cohesive band sound. The compositions have light, shade and movement without losing drive, while Stephens and Smith compliment each other brilliantly, bouncing ideas off each other while engaging fully with the band.