How good it is to have this album in circulation again! Never the best-known of records, it’s probably Gordon’s finest post-Blue Note, pre-1970s outing on disc, far more focused than his contemporary Prestige discs, a mood in part attributable to the high-end audio quality, but mostly down to the well-structured arrangements that thoughtfully frame him. Indeed, this is three-horn hard bop par excellence; the new sleeve notes compare it to Coltrane’s Blue Train of a decade before, but in reality the modish, Sixties-hip writing and spotlight on a distinctly lyrical tenor make it the stylistic partner of Hank Mobley’s The Flip, another expats in Europe set taped in Paris with both Hampton and Reece four months later. Gordon is on song throughout, driving hard on things like ‘My Blues’ and then pausing to deliver one of his most affecting ballad solos in ‘The Shadow of Your Smile’. Likewise Hampton, whose clipped JJ Johnson borrowings create a nice foil for the tenorist’s wailing vibrato. The real surprise, though, is Reece who checks in with the performance of his life; gone are the troubling idiosyncrasies of his earlier work, replaced by a strength of tone and clarity of execution that is nothing less than Lee Morgan-esque. Definitely one for the Blindfold Test. Finally, you can add a blue-chip rhythm section – familiar from Gordon’s Blue Note One Flight Up – who do everything asked of them with genuine flair.

In sum, a super record. Excellent sound quality, beautifully packaged, consistently rewarding contents. Would that all albums proved this enjoyable.