Rodrigo Amado on tenor saxophone, Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and alto saxophone, Kent Kessler on double bass and Chris Corsano on drums. CD

Breathily-blown brilliance from tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado – working here in a very well-matched frontline that features the mighty Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and soprano sax – both instruments he uses with a deftness that takes us back to is early albums on Hat Hut! Both musicians have this great sense of texture – an almost-earthy vibe at times, which is certainly echoed by the deep-toned bass work of Kent Kessler – a player we don't hear from as much as we used to, but who makes a really strong appearance here, especially when balancing out some of the freer moments on drums from Chris Corsano. Both McPhee and Amado sometimes have very close-up, almost mouthy elements to their music at points – and titles include "Wild Flowers", "The Hiddend Desert", "Legacies", and "A History Of Nothing". CD features the bonus track "Theory Of Mind II". CD

A set with two strong horn players upfront – but one that draws some equally fantastic energy from the bottom end of the group too – thanks to wonderful contributions from Kent Kessler on bass and Chris Corsano on drums! The musical qualities of tenorist Rodrigo Amado seem to just deepen more and more with each new release – there's a sense of soul here we might not have heard this strongly a few years before, one that really matches the work on the record from Joe McPhee – who blows soprano sax, pocket trumpet, and even a bit of pvc pipe – the last with that special sort of magic that's continued to make Joe such a vibrant player over the years. But we're also equally moved here by the basswork of Kent Kessler – who's got this way of matching his strengths with openness, at a level that's really echoed by the drums of Corsano – a mixture of boldness and sensitivity that's really wonderful. All tracks are long improvisations, recorded in Copehagen – and titles include "Resist", "Let The Free Be Men", "Never Surrender", and "Men Is Woman Is Man". CD