First off let me say this… I LOVE trumpet players in a quartet setting. In a selfish way it allows me to really focus on what the player is trying to say and I can really get into his sound and technique. I also have much respect for the musician who can pull it off successfully because it is extremely demanding to not have a reedman or other wind instrument to give you a break from time to time.

That being said – even if you are not a fan of the trumpet in a quartet setting you will love what Brian Lynch does on this album. He pays tribute to some of the masters of our instrumet — Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham, Tom Harrell, Thad Jones, Lee Morgan, Blue Mitchell, Charles Tolliver and Booker Little. I think he does an excellent job capturing the spirit of their playing while maintaining his own voice which is difficult to do when playing on a tribute album. Brian tears it up on “Woody Shaw” and gets slow and smooth on “Eclipse”. The former jazz messenger has great tone and technique. He is backed by a fantastic rhythm section – Mulgrew Miller on piano, Essiet Essiet on bass and Carl Allen on drums. Definitely worth checking out.