Timeless hard bop and post bop sounds are delivered by trumpeter John Lake as he leads his team of Paul Jones/ts, Michael Thomas/as, Steven Feifke/p, Marcos Varela/b and Jeff Davis/dr through a mix of jazz standards and originals. Of the former, “Ladybird” has a rich and easy pulse that allows Varela to stretch out after Jones’ warm tenor, Joe Henderson’s rapidly pulsed “A Shade Of Jade” charges to Thomas bopping feel, while Cole Porter has his warm “Everything I Love” delivered with warm mallets and a graceful glide.
Lake himself is in the macho tradition of guys like Freddie Hubbard as he rides over the bluesy “Nightwatch” and while his polished brass glistens on the Latin title piece. The team charges like the vintage years of the Jazz Messengers on “cloud_down” and the modal “The Bet” with the toes tapping on every beat. Red meat for hard boppers.