Here are three of the leading exponents of the Lennie Tristano template for jazz improvisation caught in confident accord, deploying long, interweaving lines, each horn in counterpoint with the others. Bassist Tucker plays the anchor role throughout, with expatriate Englishman Ronnie Ball soloing nimbly in pared-down boppish fashion. The collective dynamic differs little from track to track, scarcely rising above the conversational, with very few dramatic jumps or turns, the two tenors together on three tracks from the nine which form Free Wheeling, originally out on Vanguard, and appear as the first part of this reissue. Marsh was always a distinctive player, a Prez-like improviser with a light, almost feathery tone, while Pepper is a tad more edgy but still light years away from the fervent, hugely emotional player he became. His version of ‘What's New?’ is almost delicate, the sound barely issuing from the horn although he becomes markedly more animated on ‘Tickle Toe’ as does Ball. If Tristano expected his followers to fully mine the chordal possibilities of a piece then these three were certainly happy to oblige, their solos on these standards like extended explorations, with ‘Arrival’, Ball's tricky original, a high-spot. Brown is not present on the final seven tracks, issued originally as The Way It Was on Contemporary. This release replicates the previous 2006 edition on Lonehill LHJ 10236 using the same artwork and notes.