The guitarist Peter Bernstein jokes in the sleeve notes that the new album Signs Live! was a late album launch for a recording Signs of Life he made with the same line-up over 20 years ago. Now that's some delay. Yet looking at the sublime pedigree on the team sheet it's been well worth the wait. Stretched over two discs, the album focuses on the last of a three-night residency at the Lincoln Center. Bernstein is a weighty practitioner of the Hammond B-3-led soul-jazz combo, working lengthy periods with such luminaries of the idiom as Lou Donaldson, Lonnie Smith, Melvin Rhyne and Larry Goldings. But it hasn't stopped him having a flexible approach as evidenced by his albums with Joshua Redman and this new release. Brad Mehldau has a humility that's rare among other big concert-filling jazz stars, regularly appearing as sideman to old buddies and musical empathisers. The pianist, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Gregory Hutchinson make every note count playing Bernstein's succinctly written compositions. The only covers ‘Pannonica’ and ‘Crepuscule with Nellie/We See’ reflect the guitarist's love of Monk, and Mehldau's shining contribution, especially on the latter, is a testament to their shared passion for his music. You don't hear enough ‘live’ CDs like this, when everyone sounds inspired and the warm, high quality sonic production only amplifies this.