Philadelphia born drummer Donald Bailey is widely regarded as one of the true kings of soul-jazz, via his decade long stint with organist Jimmy Smith and his central role on the crossover recordings of George Benson, Esther Phillips, and Roy Ayers. Meanwhile he is not fully appreciated as a hard bop drummer. Influenced by peers Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, and Art Blakey, Bailey also played prominently with Sonny Rollins, Lee Morgan, Jimmy Heath, and John Coltrane. At age 73, Bailey produced this studio session, and sounds like he has lost very little energy, chops or soul. A self-avowed devotee of dissonance, you won't immediately recognize it in his hard swinging style, but it is more extant in his brilliant tenor saxophonist Odean Pope. The music of Roach and his legendary collaborator/pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali is also clearly evident in this set of post-bop progressive jazz, as evidenced by the calypso flavored modal piece of Ali's Blues It. Then factor in Pope and bassist Tyrone Brown being important members of Roach's band in the 1980s, with these two composing half of the material. Pope is a virile musician, whose tart sweet sound is only rivaled by Oliver Lake and Sonny Fortune. The straight-ahead bopper Plant Life, the overblown parallel of Coltrane's Giant Steps titled Fifth House, and the swinging blues Family Portrait all have the stamp of the harmonically challenging saxophonist. Young pianist George Burton is really a find, a modern modalist in the mold of McCoy Tyner, Stanley Cowell, or George Cables, as confirmed during the either lilting, directly pushed, or arpeggio fused trappings of Variations. Brown has always been an unsung hero, but he is a marvelously fluid and lithe player, most enjoyably sliding between 5/4 and 7/8 time signatures during the funky and complex Gone Now. There's a lone selection, U.S.Q./Trilogy, featuring trumpeter Charles Tolliver, again with a longish intro bass solo, driving via Burton's waltz tempo chord compings, sprinkled in a-go-go bells, and as brilliant a solo as you'd expect from Tolliver. This piece recalls the best that Tolliver or Billy Harper offered in their '70s Strata East heyday. The sweet closer Blue Gardenia features Bailey on the harmonica, and quite competently, with Burton and Brown. This is a marvelous recording that will appeal to both mainstream and progressive jazz listeners, a "better late than never" coming out party for one of the great American drummers of the 20th century, and still going strong. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi

1		Plant Life
2		Blues It
3		Gone Now
4		Variations
5		Fifth House
6		For All We Know
7		Family Portrait
8		U.S.Q./Trilogy
9		Blue Gardenia