This is the kind of music I was weaned on when I got hooked on jazz: muscular, macho, melodic and modal. No fusion, no confusion.
Tenor saxist Don Menza forms a formidable front line with trumpeter Sam Noto for a 1980 gig in Toronto, Canada withDa ve yung/b and Terry Clarke/dr. The set is a mix of hard hitting pieces and classy bopping features. Menza shows off his big and bold tone as he introduces the swaggering “Something Old, Something Blue” before the rhythm team blasts away, with Young getting a place in the spotlight. Clarke rids the whip on the wild ride of the 16 minute “Stepping” and the horns bop till they drop on the dramatic “Paddelin’ Maddeline”. Noto gets an aria for “Lover Man” and “These Are The Things I Love” and Young digs in deep with Clarke on a rivulet of “Spanish Boots”. When men were men.
https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/don-menza-sam-noto-albums/56566-quartet-live-steppin-.html