Ever since he emerged from the ranks of the Woody Herman orchestra in 1970 with an eloquent solo feature on ‘A Time For Love’ on Woody (Cadet), Tom Harrell has refined an approach to the trumpet in the post-bop tradition that has always respected the primacy of melody. Though technically a very capable soloist, he has pared his style down to its lyrical core, and has surrounded himself with like-minded sidemen in Mark Turner and Charles Altura, who scrupulously avoid the flashy and ephemeral. Throughout this album of 10 Harrell originals, they produce a set shaped and influenced by the New York jazz club environment – their home territory. Harrell's compositions are strong enough to command this demanding audience's attention, and his solos, and those around him, are shaped to fulfil the expectations of an audience that enjoys good, solid, in-the-pocket New York style jazz, with no frills or arty-farty pretentions.