Martino came up through R&B bands, working often with star organists and he’s at it again here. Bianchi lays down a warm, pillowy sound, enabling Martino to play his limpid solos, this best exemplified on Charlie Mingus’ ‘Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love’, the organ’s chords like a balm, as the guitarist unfurls his lines, each note neatly secured. Elsewhere, it’s a funkier feel, strong-minded often, with Niewood and Norris added to flesh out the ensembles. They solo without special distinction; the star turn is Martino and he clearly relishes the contrast between the reflective Mingus composition and chunkier pieces such as ‘El Hombre’, Intore kicking nicely, and Hank Mobley’s ‘Hipsippy Blues’ with its mesmeric repeated motif, the riffs piling in one by one. Martino stresses authenticity in his sleeve note comments and there can be no doubt that his chosen way is firmly informed by concern for the genre’s traditions, this allied to a strong creative well-spring, the ideas copious and fully-formed. Nothing fatuous or overly hip, just highly focused playing with good accompaniments and plenty going on. Back in the 1980s, Martino’s career came to a sudden stop due to severe illness; he taught himself to play again and here he is, in his early seventies, still going strong.