Drummer Matt Gordy swings hard and with taste with his mix of standards and originals on this release. He’s joined together with Jeff Ellwood/ts-ss, Chris Colangelo/b, Ido Meshulam/tb ,Alan Pasqua/p, Ron Stout/tp-fh and Sherry Williams/voc. Williams gets soulful on an upbeat read of the Boomer hit “Sunny” while pretty in a trio setting with a deft Gordy on “Be With Me”. The horns are hopping on the swing classic “Topsy” and the team gives a rapid pulse on the bopping “Spring Ahead” . Meshulam strusts through “Soul Eyes” and Ellwood is mellow with Stout on “Chloe”. Drummers, like umpires, are best when you don’t notice them, and on this session, Gordy leads by setting the right background for the colorful portraits.