Here’s the type of music that we’re all missing-swinging and yet relaxed jazz played in a local joint with guys with nothing to prove except a history of classic sounds. Bassist Henry Franklin and drummer Carl Burnett have played with just about everyone ranging from Freddie Hubbard to Art Pepper, and pianist Robert Turner has that same gospel feel that Gene Harris patented when Franklin was a member of The Three Sounds, of which this album is a tribute.
You get a classic church feel with Turner in full Sunday stride for “On A Clear Day” while he brings a rich intro to a boogaloo-ing take of “Eleanor Rigby”. Some extra Garner-ish is presented for the take of ”Misty” with Burnett riding the cymbal like Walter Brennan on a wagon train. Franklin’s pulsating fingers lead the way for guest Louis Van Taylor’s flute on “Sombrero Sam” and is sleek in the quartet setting for “Sombrero Sam”. The whole team preaches it on “Green Dolphin Street” and Burnett double times it on a sprint to the finish line of “Milestones”. They make it sound easy, but if it were, why doesn’t everyone do it this way?