Houston Person’s style and sound go way back to that of Gene Ammons with hints of Ike Quebec, Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis and, probably most recently, the late Stanley Turrentine. It’s all soul. Emotion that everyone can understand. He’s a real storyteller, who knows what the lyrics of the songs are all about. The elegant ballad title song and Benny Golson’s ‘I Remember Clifford’ apart there are eight unhackneyed standards. The band is superb. In fact, you’ll have trouble finding anything as relaxed as most of the tracks here. The opening mid-tempo ‘The Second Time Around’ is just wonderful, as is the Billie Holiday classic, the lovely ‘Crazy He Calls Me’. To be honest, so are virtually all the tracks. The ballads are beautiful and the up-tempos really swing, but in that natural unforced way that only the most mature musicians can bring to the table. Steve Nelson is at his most telling, again, like Houston with his brilliant phrasing, making every single note count. Lewis Nash and Ray Drummond provide the perfect backing and Chrillo’s four contributions fit in beautifully. A big plus is pianist DiMartino – such tasteful solos and comping. There are so many Houston Person CDs on the market, but this has to be one of the very best. This really is as good as you’ll get – and keep going back to ‘Second Time’ and ‘Crazy’!