Person (born 1934) is arguably the last of the big-toned, soulful tenor-men, a stylist who still holds the likes of Gene Ammons and Illinois Jacquet as his prime exemplars. I’ve known him for a while and can confirm that he's a take-charge player, whose barn-sized sound and swaggering approach were forged early on in tenor-organ combos and continue to impress. Widely recorded (he's his own producer and a regular on HighNote), he's often in the company of other like-minded musicians, taking a familiar standard theme (and there are many on this rather fetching duo recording) and allowing the melody to breathe, deploying his gorgeous sound and command of space in a way that Ben Webster might have enjoyed. I don't get any sense here of a competitive edge or of a desire to tear the house down at this late stage of his career, more a series of gentle ruminations with variations in tone and attack. Carter is the ideal companion, with his perfect note placement and innate understanding of Person's needs, nothing too fancy with the changes, but supportive in the best way. Each has a solo piece to themselves and the overall level of invention is both respectful and very classy indeed. This pair of virtuosos first recorded as a duo in 1990 with Something in Common and this is their sixth joint album to have emerged since then. As Person says: “It's our mutual appreciation for melody; we're on the same wavelength as players.” It shows.