The Blue Note debut of tenorist
Walter Smith III – a player who's been making great music for almost 20 years on record, yet who really seems to push himself even more here! The album seems to mark a new chapter in
Smith's music, and one that also really has a distinct voice on the tenor as well – a mode that's pointed and personal, yet sometimes understated too – at a level that has
Walter's role in the rest of the group's sound as important to his individual presence as a soloist. The group sparkles with work from Taylor Eigsti on piano, Matt Stevens on guitar, Harish Ragavan on bass, and Kendrick Scott on drums – and Ambrose Akinmusire guests on trumpet on one key track too. But throughout, the vision is that of
Smith – not just for his own horn, but that of the whole group – as they move through tunes that include "Shine", "Contra", "Lamplight", "Mother Stands For Comfort", and "Pup Pow".