McCoy Tyner's CD for the budget label LRC finds his regular trio of the time (bassist
Avery Sharpe and drummer
Aaron Scott) augmented by percussionist
Raphael Cruz and trumpeter/fluegelhornist
Claudio Roditi on most of the tracks. Unfortunately, Cruz proves to be more of an unnecessary distraction, marring an otherwise potent take of "Blue Bossa" and adding little to
Tyner's hard driving "Rotunda." Roditi is a better fit with
Tyner's group, especially on the lyrical arrangement of "We'll Be Together Again," but his two originals are rather lame compared to the remainder of the release.
Tyner's trio tackles "I'll Take Romance" without either one of their guests, with superb results. Three additional tracks from these sessions appeared on the compilation
Double Exposure. A later reissue of this CD by Laserlight under the same title omits both Roditi's "The Natural Bridge" and
Tyner's "Traces." Although
Tyner is in top form throughout, this is not an important release in his considerable discography, but its low price make it worth acquiring.