A classical soloist, educator and busy session artist, trumpeter Rex Richardson recorded this album, live with a Greek jazz group at the Athens’ Guru Bar. Per the liners, this unit worked together in 1995 while all parties involved thought a recording would serve as a judicious next-step, considering the quintet’s successful week-long engagement at the same venue.

They don’t reinvent the jazz canon here, but the Greek musicians profess a broad jazz vernacular to coincide with Richardson’s golden-toned and somewhat edgy lines. It’s post-bop with a ‘tude that summons thoughts of drummer Art Blakey’s revered "Jazz Messengers." And with alto saxophonist Takis Paterekis sharing frontline duties, the group generates a sprightly sequence of events, all executed with a get up and go mode of attack. Here, the soloists trade sprightly fours while engaging in zippy unison choruses and spunky grooves.

On Freddie Hubbard’s tune "Dear John," the trumpeter, saxophonist and pianist Dimitris Kalatzis render a peppery bump and grind motif within a catchy hook. Then on Richardson’s composition titled "The Claim Of The Ideal," Paterekis’ rousing sax solo skirts the outside realm of jazz over a Blakey-esque military procession type pulse. Nonetheless, Richardson is a top-notch soloist who merges a bit of fire and brimstone with memorably melodic themes. In sum, this quintet casts a synergistic approach that surfaces from start to finish. Nice job, gentlemen....