Lavishly endorsed by Dave Liebman on the album jacket, Hungarian-born tenorist Tony Lakatos is hailed as a fine player of ‘real’ jazz, and so he is. He switches to soprano on just one track, the beautiful ballad ‘Unanswered’. Otherwise his broad, warm, no-fooling tenor tone is as admirable as all the greats whose music he has clearly absorbed. The spirits of Trane, Dexter Gordon and early Sonny Rollins waft through his solos like absent friends, nodding to say hello. Similarly the mature Freddie Hubbard is trumpeter Schlosser's muse, while pianist Botos obviously digs Wynton Kelly, Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner, and there's nothing wrong with that either.

The group's deeper originality lies in the hip themes they play, nearly all by Lakatos. ‘Leonard’ and ‘Cat-Kiss’, to give two examples, are mature post-bop lines that make melodic sense, featuring strong harmonies and occasional breaks for individual players. Hurst and Drummond give the soloists subtle yet solid support, allowing Lakatos to take flight with admirable fluency at inspired moments. Miles's later quintets come to mind as bursts of group energy are gradually resolved into collective logic. Everybody stretches out, yet with no vain bluffing. Like Dave says on the sleeve; “This is men at work!”