Celebrating a quarter century of swinging, big band leader Chuck Owen plays to his strengths with a 5 woodwind, 4 trumpet, 4 ‘bone, rhythm and string section as well as some guests on this flavorful mix of originals and jazz covers. Of the latter, Mark Neuenschwander’s bass leads the way for a Gil Evans-ish “Milestones” (old version) featuring the beefy tenor sax of Jack Wilkins and hip trumpet of Clay Jenkins, while Chick Corea’s “Chelsea Shuffle” is filled with bold colors and Warren Wolf’s guest on drums along with Steve Wilson’s slithering soprano sax. Violinist Sara Caswell and guitarist LaRue Nickelson add to the pastoral atmosphere of “Trail of the Ancients” and Tami Danielsson’s alto floats over the misty “American Noir”. Swing is never far away, with Wolf and Jenkins in fine form on “The Better Claim” and the sections show their fortitude on the magisterial “Within Us”. The gold standard for the silver anniversary.