An imaginative meeting of the spirits, so to speak. Pianist-arranger John Donaldson’s tribute to two inspirational pianists drawn from different eras and cultures – 1960s American icon McCoy Tyner and 1980s South African legend Bheki Mseleku – makes a great deal of sense when one considers that they are both bound by compositional brilliance as well as technical excellence. Each has a song reprised in turn by an impressive band in which Graeme Flowers, Quentin Collins, Jason Yarde and Greg Heath provide all the requisite colour for the themes and also bolster them with absorbing solos. The idea of this dual tribute is a commendable one, primarily because of the great strength of character of each artist, and also the clear contrast in style. On one hand, McCoy has a deep blues sensibility. On the other, Mseleku has a lyricism that bears traces of rousing township choral traditions. Any set list that contains anthems such as ‘Ballad For The Saints’, ‘The Man From Tanganyika’, ‘Joy’ and ‘Fly With The Wind’ is frankly an embarrassment of riches. Donaldson’s scores and the rousing dynamism of the band do them justice.