Houston may be synonymous with hard-honking horn players and heavy duty R'B but it's worth remembering that neighboring Fort Worth produced the revolutionary Ornette Coleman. This engrossing music by the little known Texan drummer-activist Bubba Thomas underlines the creativity in the region and should hopefully bring much needed attention to an individual who is conspicuous by his absence in jazz history books. Like a great many musicians active in the late 1960s, Thomas fell under the spell of John Coltrane, and the intensely fiery nature of the arranging and playing here reflect the game-changing ways of the great icon. Yet the songs have a pleasingly wide range of resonances beyond what is largely deemed ‘spiritual jazz’. At times, the stark fragmentation of Eric Dolphy is heard and elsewhere there is a gorgeous latin and calypso slant to the rhythmic base of the music. A young Ronnie Laws plays tasty alto rather than tenor sax, Kenny Abair's guitar is deeply soulful and the leader's work on the kit has a percolating energy that drives the music along with real conviction. Fascinating buried treasure that shouldn't remainunderground any longer.