There’s a school of thought that rates George Coleman as the very best saxophonist that Miles ever employed. Rumour has it that Tony Williams talked Miles into dropping him because of the way he looked and the way he dressed. And the way in which he ate up chord changes instead of going down the modal path that the rest of the quintet were taking. Thank goodness that the few live bootlegged dates which featured him got released. This is his first outing as a leader for nearly 20 years and his first recording since 2002’s Four Generations of Miles. Now 80, he’s made an unusual choice of musicians including Rollins’ veteran bassist Cranshaw and his own son, George Jr., who is a remarkably tasteful drummer. This is an outstanding album – the title says it all! – and the opening nearly 13-minute long version of ‘Invitation’ is exceptionally good. The whole is a mix of standard ballads and medium-tempo originals (Bernstein plays on ‘Blues For B.B.’, Coleman’s former employer) including one by LeDonne, whose playing throughout is a nice surprise. But it’s Coleman’s record. His harmonics and substitutions are in a class of their own. He swings all the time and the feeling with which he plays is the pure essence of jazz. Incidentally, Coleman’s star pupil, Eric Alexander, co-produces and interviews him for the liner notes.