Mary Lou Williams is always a worthwhile subject for investigation if not celebration and what can rightfully be described as an all-star band brings even-handedness and emotional commitment to material that had a sizeable impact on numerous pianists and composers gathered under the banner of modern jazz in the mid-1940s. The gig highlights the warm, leisurely, almost airborne quality of some of Williams’ themes, several of which have subtle gospel implications that make for an almost sophisticated spiritual in places. Lake is in particularly good form and his considerable variations of attack and timbre, from the evanescent and airy to the urgent and piercing, serve the range of moods well. But, as engaging as the music is, the sound quality of the drums and bass, which is sadly lacking the kind of depth that a player such as Reggie Workman has in abundance, is a bit of a letdown. With this relatively ‘flat’ engineering, some of the tracks are a touch on the underwhelming side, even though the performance does not at all want for passion, which leads me to conclude that this is one of those sets where you had to be right down front to git it in your soul.