

Another in the growing (and excellent) Smoke Sessions series, Groovewise documents a night at the NYC club with Reed on the piano, saxophonist Seamus Blake, bassist Ben Williams, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson. This same combo can be heard on Reed’s two most recent Monk tributes (The Baddest Monk, The Adventurous Monk), but here they focus on old and new Reed originals, with the only exceptions being excellent versions of Clifford Jordon’s “Powerful Paul Robeson” and Christian McBride’s “The Shade of the Cedar Tree.” Standouts also include the bluesy “Until the Last Cat Has Swung” and the delicate “Una Mujar Elegente.”