Tenorist Tardy doesn’t make many recordings as a leader these days but several sessions with the late, sadly-missed Andrew Hill and also Steve Coleman brought him fresh attention from a new audience. On this new CD, he revisits his first instrument, the clarinet, for three tracks – Kenny Barron’s ‘Voyage’, Bird’s ‘Billie’s Bounce’ and his own tender original ballad ‘A Prayer For the Preborn’ – in an occasionally flautist style, at times reminiscent of Eddie Daniels. There are sensitive tenor readings of Arthur Schwartz’ ‘I See Your Face Before Me’, Victor Young’s ‘When I Fall in Love’ and Berlin’s ‘How Deep is the Ocean’. But the best and most exciting cuts on this at times oddly sound-balanced album are the up-tempo treatment of the Doris Day hit, ‘Secret Love’, Cedar Walton’s flag-waver ‘Firm Roots’ and especially the melodic Wynton Marsalis composition, which brings out the most free improvisation, ‘Aural Oasis’. Of the sidemen, Dizack is best on ‘Secret’, ‘Oasis’ and ‘Roots’, Tardy’s pupil Keith Brown shows much promise, Jaimeo Brown pushes and pulls the groove in the current style, while Tardy regular Conly gives his leader what he wants on bass.