This album is led by Tim Armacost, whose elegantly robust post-Getz tenor sax will be familiar from his role fronting the formidable New York Standards Quartet. He may have selected the unusual three-horns-no-chords line-up in tribute to the enduringly popular recordings of Gerry Mulligan’s various 1950s bands, or it may simply have come about because all the members of this line-up of legendary New York players apparently live in the same attractively suburban neighbourhood of Hastings-On-Hudson. We can imagine Harrell and Smulyan having a morning encounter walking their dogs in the park while Patitucci and the venerable Al Foster swap gossip in the post office queue.

Between them, the various players have a storied discography demonstrating many differing contemporary and traditional approaches to jazz, but here they select a common ground of mainstream bop which they inhabit as comfortably as though it were a much loved neighbourhood bar in which they’d gathered for an enjoyable evening hang.

Opener ‘It’s Really Just The Blues' is credited to Armacost but it’s really a mash-up of everyones’ favourite blues themes from ‘Cheryl’ to ‘Mr Day’ delivered in a spirit of joyous optimism.

Lest this sound all a bit too cosy, we are reminded what deep musicians we’re dealing with from the minute that Armacost, Harrell and Smulyan take turns to solo over the faultlessly responsive backing of bass and drums - bassists will enjoy hearing Patitucci playing straight-ahead with such panache.

Further carefully selected tunes are by John Handy, Harold Land, and by Ellington and Monk of course. There are some nice charts that utilise the horn section’s range - on Al Foster’s ‘Chief’ for instance - and the absence of piano gives everything an informal, spontaneous feel. Very enjoyable.