If the overused jazz term 'straight ahead' means anything, it means stuff like this: direct, lucid, swinging and apparently effortless. Now approaching his seventieth birthday, Houston Person is a tenor saxophone master who has been playing this way for most of his life, yet he still sounds fresh and full of ideas. Most of his recordings have been with organists, but recently he has switched to the piano, bass and drums format, with guitar added in this case. The change has done him good, not least by opening up a new repertoire. Most of the tunes here are by jazz composers, including Gigi Gryce, Tadd Dameron and Horace Silver. The whole thing is so agreeable that it's hard to pick bits out, but Person's firm, warm, unflappable ballad playing is a particular delight. Pianist Stan Hope and guitarist Paul Bollenback also play excellent solos. As a final recommendation, the CD was engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, the man who set the standard for jazz recording and continues to produce impeccable results.

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