At last: the Delfeayo Marsalis record that we have all been dreaming of.

Breathing new life into trad New Orleans jazz all over again Jazz Party has a great joie de vivre to it.

Perfect for Mardi Gras the album personnel includes a likeable Tonya Boyd-Cannon on the title track and on stand-out 'Blackbird Special' the Dirty Dozen’s Roger Lewis.

Marsalis, often the underdog in the Marsalis dynastic firmament, himself is nimble and communicative throughout and shows why he is a trombone great.

A reminder why many of us like jazz in the first place. What a surprise. There was me thinking the early styles were more of a museum piece. There is a core to a century of the music after all and that core is evidenced in few places anywhere nowadays but is certainly here in all its tightly arranged exuberance and easily rustled up wild air of celebration. It takes a certain genius to tease it all out and make us listen up. Great finally to hear trad sounds delivered in such an unstuffy and unstodgy way factors that often ruin the style or make it tourist music or an historical curiosity. Memo to big bro Wynton: Del's in his prime. Sazeracs all round. SG