Trevor Watts' Celebration Band is typically exuberant and indeed relentlessly spirited during this live set recorded in Skopje, Macedonia in 2004. The octet is an unstoppable force, locking into a groove and rarely if ever letting go, the four-sax lineup of Watts (alto and soprano), Amy Leake (tenor), Rob Leake (tenor and soprano), and Marcus Cummins (alto and soprano) piling on multitudinous riffs and variations over the churning rhythm section of bassist Roger Carey, drummer Giampaolo Scattoza, and percussionist Jamie Harris while guitarist Geoff Sapsford finds just the right spots to throw in his funked-up chords. The opening eight-and-a-half-minute "The Idea" is on fire from start to finish, the saxes riffing in unison before breaking into harmony and counterpoint as an already fearsome groove pushes even harder. Watts solos forcefully on alto before returning to the ensemble as the rhythm section pumps up the funk factor, the saxes get even punchier, and the whole band slams to a photo finish. The ten-plus-minute "Summer Suns" begins comparatively lilting and warm in its African-inspired rhythms and harmonies -- brightened by soprano sax in the ensemble mix -- before Carey lets his fingers fly around the fretboard backed only by percussion and guitar and the saxes jump back in with clipped bursts; the tune ends at a considerably higher energy level than its comparatively mellow beginning, with a transition smooth enough that you might not remember how you got there.

1		The Idea
2		Summer Suns
3		The Friendship Ship
4		The High Life
5		Spring Sunrise
6		Life and Music

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