Legendary? Not quite – more like obscure. Seemingly Max knew Philadelphian Hasaan Ibn Ali from way back and decided to give his old friend a break. Fine, but it would appear that this piano man's reputation was perhaps bigger than what he delivered here which is seven of his own quirky compositions.

Though there are moments of genuine inspiration, much of the time he sounds like a fairly competent player desperately in search of a style – a bit of Monk, a smattering of Cecil, even a touch of Elmo Hope and so on. Furthermore, the piano doesn't sound in great shape either. This album hung around the cutout bins for ages and as far as I know the legendary one never recorded again. There are those who now hail this album as some long lost classic. Being the Philistine that I am, I can't go along with that line. Sorry.