As far as the surviving band members can recall, Dean’s Unlimited Saxophone Company performed live just three times: the group’s first appearance before the public was this 7 May 1989 date at the Covent Garden Jazz Saxophone Festival; its last, at the Europa Jazz Festival in Le Mans in May 1991, is available as a download when you buy this album.

Opening with ‘Unda,’ with Dean’s saxello stating the theme against simply voiced ensembles, the die is cast for a straight ahead session that is engaging for its unpretentiousness and compelling for its energy. ‘Seven for Lee’ was something of a signature tune for Dean, while ‘Small Strides’ is a play on the name of ‘Giant Steps,’ minus the harmonic complexity. Dean, Trevor Watts and Paul Dunmall all put their shoulder to the wheel to make this session work. In all, six numbers are negotiated with cheerful yet determined abandon that make this a fascinating microcosm of British jazz that briefly flowered, orchid-like for a day (or so) before vanishing.

Originally issued by Hazel Miller for Ogun, this reissue includes fresh essays by Giles Quinnell and Philippe Renauld while the tapes were remastered for this release by Caspar Sutton-Jones of Gearbox Records.