Cityscape

is one of those moments where a veteran jazzman places himself in a setting in order to showcase the music he's made -- is beginning his sixth decade as a working musician -- what he's learned and where he's likely to travel. The band is a septet, one of the rarer sessions for . His own working band -- pianist , bassist , and drummer -- are here, and so are some old friends, like baritone saxophonist , trombonist , and on trumpet and flugelhorn. The horn arrangements actually serve to make 's trademark warm, easy grooving style even more so. The set opens with the classic theme. 's bunch enter in unison on the theme; it's a beautiful call to attention before he takes his solo on the melody, just grooving and blowing. The baritone, trombone, and trumpet here allow a wide base to lift off from, but his well-known restraint is in place here, too. Other fine moments on this disc are the swinging in full of swagger and humor. 's has a gorgeous horn chart rooted in and but falls out more like -meets- . The is in there, keeping the elegance form running away with the tune. 's flute gets down and dirty in his own copping a -vibe before the band enters and turns the whole thing into a . go head-to-head on another composition with a wonderfully gritty solo by the bandleader. The set closes with by . It's fast, knotty, and deeply funky, led by a complex horn chart and 's solid backbeat groove. It's takes the album out on such a high note, listeners are left wanting more. And of course, that's the point. 's consistency as a bandleader is remarkable and this is yet another session that proves the point. The man is a treasure. ~ Thom Jurek