The team of Dave Stryker/g and Steve Slagle/as has been as consistently swinging as it has been unheralded over the years. They both have done a few projects apart from each other the past year or two, with Slagle’s duet album and Stryker’s tribute to Stanley Turrentine both delivering the goods. Here, they return in a larger format than usual, with John Clark/fh, Billy Drewes/ts-bcl and Clark Gayton/tb-tba adding extra textures to many of the tracks to the rhythm team of Bill O’Connell/p-key, Gerald Cannon/b and McClenty Hunter/dr.
The winning mainstream swing and bop of tunes like “ Extensity” and “shuffling blues such as “Lickety Split Lounge” are simply irresistible, with the pulse getting rapid on “Ft. Greene Scene.” Slagle’s alto is rich and pungent, and he knows how to make it coo, as he delivers a rich solo on Charles Mingus’ classic “Self-Portrait In Three Colors.” Stryker makes the strings dance on the title track while the whole band gets rich and raucous on “Nothing Wrong With It.” As fresh as bread out of the oven at a 3 am bakery.
Strike Zone Records