Williams is better known as a sideman than a leader, his career companions amounting to something of a ‘who's who’ of his generation. Yet he has fronted a sizeable crop of albums since 1975, and on this disc he reassembles his quartet from the well-received 2004 album Griot Liberté, including his long-term rhythm section partners Colligan and White, plus vibraphonist Stefon Harris. And into the mix comes Jean Baylor, very effective at using wordless singing to become an additional frontline voice, along with the assertive saxophonist Bruce Williams.

On some of the uptempo selections here, there's a slightly fidgety quality about the rhythm team, largely stemming from White's somewhat random rimshots and accents, but this is firmly under control for the core of the album – two memorable ballads by Buster himself. He was also lyricist for one of them, ‘In The Middle of a Rainbow’, that shows Baylor's ability with words is every bit as accomplished as her more instrumental work, complemented here by some sensitive soprano playing from Bruce Williams. Buster's other ballad, the atmospheric ‘Wisdom of Silence’ is beautifully done, and the high point of the album is the Brazilian classic ‘Estate’, taken at a medium lilting tempo with Bruce Williams’ sinuous saxophone deftly catching the vocal nuances of Baylor's sensuous delivery, rounded off by Harris’ calm invention.