Guitarist Andrew Cheshire's second release stands out from the crowd by virtue of his distinctive original compositions, as well as individual contributions that bring out some magical group interaction. Cheshire had apparently planned to play the date on acoustic guitar, but decided at the last minute to go with a solid-body electric. It was a fortuitous choice. While the tunes themselves recall the more adventurous side of the classic Blue Note era, they have an open, airy feel that also brings to mind Kenny Wheelers writing. Cheshire's warm chords mix with single notes that are quietly sustained, bent, and whammied into vapor trails that Ron McClure inhales and feeds back to Rich Perry's warmly volatile tenor, and Kurt Weiss' flexible, singing trumpet. Jeff Hershfeild's masterful control of dynamics on drums rounds out a wonderfully cohesive group, all the more amazing given the fact that this band had never played together before. What's more, the date took all of five hours to finish, with first takes predominating. You'd never know it from the results; this sounds like a working unit, everyone shining in his own right, their individual lights refracting and making the leaders writing resonate with uncommonly sympathetic, graceful interpretations. Strongly recommended.
-Larry Nai,
Cadence April, 1998