Playing old favourites such as ‘Killer Joe’ and ‘Make Someone Happy’, newer numbers such as ‘Generation’ and audience requests like ‘Chitlins Con Carne’ and ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’, dear old Kenny keeps on keepin’ on. Here he is at one of his favourite Los Angeles venues, still swinging after all these years (his first recording, with Dizzy GIllespie, dates back to 1951) and sounding mellower than ever. At 82 his reflexes aren’t that fast, but speed was never his strong suit anyway. Tone was his thing, a warm and rounded sound as acoustic as an electrified box can get, and it remains his trademark.

As head of the Jazz Studies course at UCLA since 1978, he’s also heavily into education, which keeps him in touch with good young players, a useful source of talent for his group. Ranier and Almario are new names to me, but Kenny also remains loyal to older colleagues like Cameron, with whom he goes back a long way. Together they produce enjoyable music his fans will enjoy, especially those who have grown accustomed to his more recent smoky vocals.