Galaher is a fine drummer and composer, most adept at Latin-inflected fills and beats, which help make songs like Hart & Rodgers? ?Have You Met Miss Jones?? stand out. Likewise, on ?Legba? his drumming prods Onaje Allan Gumbs? piano to steamy grooviness. Galaher is also wise to open up the floor to his band on other tracks as well.

What is missing here is fire. Not that there aren?t burning players, especially trumpeter Maurice Brown and saxophonist Mark Shim. But the originals here are straight-on bop with Latin or French quarter interludes, and the covers are pretty obvious (another version of ?Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat???) Straight ahead is fine, but too often this sounds like a cookie-cutter club band set rather than anything more ambitious. Traditional bop with nods to the Latin was adventurous in 1960. While the band is hardcore and Galaher a fine leader, this sets needed to get real gone once in awhile in order to maintain interest. 6/10 -- Mike Wood (15 May, 2007)