Houston Person is a master of understated elegance, a balladeer of the highest order. But he's equally capable of playing tough, soulful tenor with virile vigor. True to form, Houston here shows both sides as and delivers a program that alternates between creamy-smooth ballads and bluesier offerings with significant bite. With the amazing Warren Vaché on cornet/flugelhorn and Mark Patterson on trombone the little big band sound is absolutely stellar, with legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder handling recording, mixing, and mastering.