At the start of tenor saxophonist and singer Maria Grand's third solo album, 2021's meditative Reciprocity, she repeats the phrase, "The joy of being exactly who I am." The song, titled "Creation, The Joy of Being," works as the album's mantra, perfectly setting up the sacred, Zen-like vibe of what's to follow. Recorded while Grand was five months pregnant with her son, Reciprocity is explicitly centered on themes of birth, renewal, and finding solace in the circular nature of our existence. It's a fitting follow-up to her ambitious, concept-driven 2018 recording Magdalena. That album found her playing with a larger ensemble and using mythological and historical female icons, including the Egyptian goddess Isis, Mary (the mother of Jesus), and Mary Magdalene as symbols to explore societal notions of femininity, power, and trauma. Though no less ambitious, Reciprocity is more stripped down, showcasing her trio with bassist Kanoa Mendenhall and drummer Savannah Harris. Together, they play with a swirling, richly harmonic give-and-take that evokes the '70s work of artists like Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane. Thematically, Grand returns to the birth theme of the opening track on songs like "Creation, A Home in Mind," "Creation, Ladder of Swords," and "Creation, Matrescence." While they are melodically distinct, the songs feel like an ongoing conversation or intense prayer that Grand returns to throughout the album. In between, she conjures yet more spiritual energies as on the two-part "Fundamental," which features a spoken word piece over a thick, Eastern-influenced bass drone. Similarly, she multi-tracks her voice into a sparkling vocal choir on "Now, Take, Your, Day" before diving with her saxophone into the song's dewy acoustic waves, outlining each harmonic crest with increasing intensity. A bold improviser with a warm, vocal-like saxophone tone, Grand plays with a gentle, yet commanding authority on Reciprocity, like a mother speaking to her child, or praying to god.