This is a particularly exciting post-bop recording by
Seamus Blake, who doubles on tenor and soprano. The best selections are the ones on which he is teamed with tenor saxophonist
Mark Turner, particularly "Dittee," "Face the Question," and "In a Warring Absence." In addition to
Blake and
Turner, the sextet features trumpeter
Tim Hagans (who takes a relatively minor role),
Kevin Hays on both piano and electric keyboards, bassist
Larry Grenadier, and drummer
Billy Drummond. The opening groove number, "Four Track Mind" (with its eccentric sounds from
Hays' keyboards), is complex yet swinging, setting the tone for the rest of this continually stimulating set. ~ Scott Yanow