Tyner has since the 1980s benefited from not signing lengthy contracts with particular labels and, prolific as a result in terms of output, he seems to have been especially busy around 25 years ago. This Timeless album (the only one for that company) has been reissued through Challenge Records and finds him with his regular trio of the period, the workmanlike Sharpe being bolstered by Tyner’s near contemporary, Louis Hayes. The repertoire is fairly straight-ahead, with five ancient standards bracketed by the attractive latinesque title-track and a ‘Blues For Max’ (doubtless referring to engineer Bolleman), while hidden in the middle is an original called ‘Jazz Walk’, which is a close cousin of ‘Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit’. The thing is that, with the frequency of Tyner albums and the unexceptional material of this one, you’re tempted to write it off as unrevealing. Yet, even if you’re ultra-familiar with Tyner, his energy and invention is constantly surprising and rewarding.