Smoke Sessions' second studio album features the often underrated Turre, usually a HighNote artist, and a very blues-conscious band playing a straightahead set of originals and not over-hackneyed standards, including an up-tempo treatment of one of Charlie Parker's most famous heart-breakers, ‘Lover Man’, Horace Silver's ‘Peace’, Rodgers and Hart's ‘With a Song in My Heart’, Gershwin's ‘S'Wonderful’ and a beautiful Fred Coots song ‘It's Too Late Now’, which is one of the most enjoyable tracks, with inspired solos all round. Of the relatively simple originals, ‘Bu’ is, of course, for Blakey, with whom Turre worked after several years with Woody Shaw and a period with Rahsaan Roland Kirk. One of the more interesting is the Senegal-inspired ‘Nangadef’, which means ‘hello’ and brings in Corniel on percussion. The a capella shells-featured title tune leads into an up-tempo treatment of Miles' ‘All Blues’. Turre plays trombone with warmth and inventiveness throughout and his shells work is also really impressive. The band is excellent. Williams has really matured and plays with emotion and conviction on alto and soprano and the rhythm section does exactly what the leader wants – it plays the blues and it swings constantly.