In the detailed annotation to this album Andria Lisle lays out the story of the Newborn family, their residency in Orange Mound area of Memphis and the two sons, Phineas, Jr. & Calvin, whose names are held in great respect in the rich, musical history of this legendary town. A tragic figure and monster pianist, Phineas left us much too early but Calvin conquered his demons and continues to play to this day. Recorded around the corner from the famous Sun Studios at the Sam Phillips Studio in the middle of last year, this eight tune programmer contains six numbers from Calvin’s pen plus one of Billy Strayhorn’s best-known composition and the title selection by Phineas Newborn, Jr., all rendered by a collective of local Memphis musicians. A pleasing mix of Bop, ballads, gospel and Blues, this is the kind of stuff that makes me just close my eyes and mutter “Nice.” With over seventy years under his belt, Newborn is a model of relaxation imbued with the inherent taste to pick and choose his notes with an inner sense of discretion. Most of the tracks with the piano of ex-Jazz Messenger Brown have the trumpet of Scott Thompson and saxophone (or flute in the case of “The Streetwalker’s Stroll”) of Herman Green except for the Strayhorn classic which is more or less a duet between Brown and the leader. Percussionist Obioto is heard on a couple of these, perhaps most forcefully on the final listing where Newborn switches effectively between octaves and single note lines and the buttery tenor of Green impresses. There are also octave-laden solos on the first track and “Restorations.” On the former, the underrecognized Charlie Wood takes a forceful organ ride along with both hornmen yet elsewhere on the pair of slow Blues they and the pianist lay out to let the guitar and organ dig in at length on the meat & potatoes. Having had the pleasure of jamming with both Wood and drummer Ward, I can personally vouch for their prowess on their respective instruments. As an author, composer, educator and musician, Calvin Newborn is somewhat of a renaissance man and like the mighty Mississippi that runs through his native Memphis, long may his creative juices flow.