The chance of hearing in the flesh top class US hard bop such as produced on Ascension from the Black Art Jazz Collective any time soon is slim indeed. Retro inclined this is the kind of record that gets you reaching back to the Blue Note label for further treasure and while the tunes are mainly new the album is firmly baked in the heritage of the music. Jeremy Pelt, Wayne Escoffery and James Burton III make a formidable front line ably backed by a knowing rhythm section. An album that won't change the world but by its lived-in sound and expert prowess will make you realise some of the essence of what we are all missing out there in the real world.
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