by Scott YanowBy 1981, after six years of steady recording, Chico Freeman had gained a strong reputation as a flexible reed player able to play both avant-garde and fairly straight-ahead jazz. For this straight CD reissue of a Contemporary LP, Freeman doubles on tenor and bass clarinet in settings ranging from a quartet to a sextet. Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (then just barely 20-years-old) is in superior form during his four appearances, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson is on all six songs, and also in fine form are pianist Dennis Moorman, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Ronnie Burrage; percussionist Paulinho Da Costa guests on one tune. The music is comprised of originals by Freeman, Hutcherson and McBee that, although based in the foundations of the past (Freeman's "Embracing Oneness" is dedicated to Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk), also looks forward.