The gruff, gritty and warmhearted sound of Ronnie Cuber's baritone sax has been beefing up brass sections for over half a century. His credits range from Lionel Hampton and Aretha Franklyn to Eddie Palmieri and Dr John, and he's equally at home underpinning big-band brass and studio-session soul as he is fronting road-travelling R&B. But he's a modernist at heart, a master of flowing lines and offbeat articulation in the lineage of Pepper Adams and Cecil Payne. Here, his conceptual clarity and precise phrasing are applied to a dozen standards ranging from Jobim to Horace Silver and showcased in the sparse setting of an equally assured piano-free trio. Bassist Jay Anderson is rock solid with a commanding sound, while drummer Adam Nussbaum fleshes out texture with cymbals and snare – the trio locks in with imagination and zest. Cuber's precision and attention to detail grabs the listener from the off, with ‘Silver's Serenade’, a swinger taken at a medium lope; a second Silver composition, ‘The Jody Grind’, confirms Cuber's soul credentials. ‘What Is This Thing Called Love’ follows, set up by grumbly out-of-time sax and Anderson in Haden mode before rushing off at speed. And then comes Sonny Rollins’ ‘St Thomas’, with the saxophonist marking the changes as calypso turns to swing. Rollins’ influence is clearest later in the set, with a cheeky reading of Duke Ellington's ‘Just Squeeze Me’, while Gerry Mulligan is referenced by a cover of ‘Bernie's Tune’. But Cuber has long since forged his formative influences into a personal voice, and he puts his stamp on all the material presented here. The ballads are tender, the bossa is bluesy and the modal offering, Ronnie Mathews’ ‘Jean-Marie’ is played with intent. The album closes with ‘Lover Come Back To Me’. Nothing fancy, just fast, swinging and perfectly controlled.