Believe it or not, this is their fifth album together as a duo since 1990. And it's one of the purest examples of what jazz has always been about from the very beginning.

As the notes say, there's freedom, structure, teamwork, imagination, blues, swing and soul. Ron Carter is not only the greatest bassist, he's probably the most recorded, having appeared on over 2,200 albums. As he says: “I have the responsibility to maintain the beat, play the changes, play good notes, play in tune, try to make the audience not miss drums or guitar… but having that group sound in my head helps me to pick the notes, rhythms and intervals that allow me to imply more than just one single note. And what's great about Houston is he doesn't blink”. Houston, who sadly passed away this year and who has been so faithfully supported by HighNote's Joe Fields during his entire career, was such a true jazz musician.

He knew all the standards, their lyrics and the emotion the writers intended. The way he plays the melodies here and takes them wherever he wants is just magical, with his strong feel for the blues constantly present throughout.

Though his sound has generally been compared to legendary Texas tenors, especially Illinois Jacquet, you can tell he loved the Lester, Getz, Warne Marsh school as well.

There are 10 standards, the cream of the Great American Songbook.

It would be churlish to pick out particular favourites as they're all superb – with beautiful sound supplied by the late Rudy Van Gelder.