Rare is the record label that has its own definable sound. Back in the day, you knew what you were expecting with a release by Blue Note, Concord, Riverside or even Chesky. Now, you might find C&W on one of these labels that have been overtaken by the Philistines.
Not so with Smoke House Records. They release a consistent catalogue of bop and post bop material that swings with class. This album by vet drummer Al Foster (who’s been on albums with Miles, Blue Mitchel, Sonny Rollins, Hubbard and beyond) with a hip tam of Nicholas Payton/tp, Chris Potter/ts-ss, Kevin Hays/p-key and Vincent Archer/b through a mix of post-bop standards and originals, all as sleek as a restored 61 Caddy with fins.
The horns are bold and confident on blue plate specials like “Pent-Up House” and the swaying “Half Nelson” , while Foster gets fun and kinetic on his own quirky and clever “TS Monk”. Hays’ piano glistens on the blue ballad “Anastasia”, while his keys are soulful around Payton’s squeezed out notes on the trumpeter’s “Six”. The leader is a confident leader all throughout, digging in like bop is in his blood on “Punjab” and graceful on the sublime “Alone and I”. This is music that has authority.