A man who only played the ‘straight horn’ throughout his lengthy and accomplished career, Lacy really seems in his element on these unaccompanied concert performances from around the world. At the risk of falling into a well-worn cliché, the instrument sounds like a veritable extension of the player, so wide is the expressive range. The marked contrasts in timbre are a thrill – the braying, honking, screeching and slap-tongueing suggest an entirely different horn, if not player, to the harp-like pianissimo elsewhere. But perhaps the greatest achievement is the way these extremes often entwine to create the kind of intense drama that flows from the game of call and response of two or more musicians. Indeed, Lacy's ability to break a strong, snappy rhythmic pattern with a floating melodic phrase simply enhances the overall sense of creative plurality of one of the most singular personalities in jazz. Of the 10 originals in the programme, ‘Slabs’ is a highlight while among the Strayhorn covers it is the take on ‘Lush Life’ that drops the jaw. All of the glamourous pathos of the composition is rendered so vividly that the ‘sullen gray faces’ of the lyric come heartbreakingly into view. If playing solo is one of the greatest challenges any improvising musician can take on then Lacy shows on these sessions that he could more than carry the heavy load.