The playing on this record is so fresh it's hard to accept that it was made 36 years ago. Every member of the personnel is a jazz heavyweight who never received the public acclaim they deserved at the time – or since. Maybe not quite in The Cookers' (with whom McBee now plays) class, but not far off. Stubblefield had been working with Jerry Gonzalez and the groundbreaking Fort Apache Band around this time. His passionate fiery tenor solos (especially on the fine opener ‘Song For One’) swing solidly, and his soprano playing on Bridgewater's lovely ballad ‘What’s Gonna Be is Gonna Be' is one of the highlights of an excellent album. Bridgewater has always been an unsung hero to many musicians and this CD contains some of his best recorded work. Gumbs, of course, was a key member of the Woody Shaw bands of the period, and a fine composer, as heard on ‘If You Only Knew’, while the brilliant McBee's rhythm partners, Joe Chambers (the guy who often made some of Blue Note's sessions that little bit extra special) and James Mtume, Miles Davis' fire-spitting 1970s sideman who went on to become a very successful producer (partnering guitarist Reggie Lucas) complete a really strong team. And, as a bonus, there are totally spot on liner notes by the masterly Alun Morgan, now based in Australia. Finally, a word for Stubblefield as composer. Four of the six tunes, a couple modal in concept, are his and are largely responsible for the overall feel of a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit too brief, recording.