An earnest homage to Jazz legend John Coltrane by Arkadia’s impressive company of artists, some of whom were friends and colleagues of Trane, and one other — David Liebman — who at age 15 was inspired to become a Jazz musician after hearing Coltrane at Birdland in New York City. With one exception — Red Time’s “Take the Trane,” which closes the session — the music was either written by or in some way associated with Coltrane. There are two dissimilar versions of “Moment’s Notice” — by Nova Bossa Nova and the spit–shined Billy Taylor Trio — as well as superlative renditions of Trane’s “Syeeda’s Song Flute” (Benny Golson), “Naima” (Taylor’s trio again) and “Giant Steps” (pianist Ted Rosenthal). Golson, one of Trane’s childhood friends in Philadelphia, has a special feeling for John’s music, and it shines through on “Syeeda” and his own striking composition, “Touch Me Lightly.” Liebman, meanwhile, is closest to Coltrane in conception, coercing his soprano saxophone into thick sonic clusters on “My Favorite Things” and showing his more lyrical nature on Billy Eckstine’s “I Want to Talk About You,” accompanied on the former by guitar and rhythm, on the latter only by guitarist Joris. “Giant Steps” is listed as a trio piece, but Rosenthal’s solo piano is laid bare most of the way in a sparkling rendition that accentuates his imagination as well as his remarkable chops. Nova Bossa Nova, which includes trumpeter Roditi and tenor saxophonist Mintzer on the front line, lends a savory Latin flavor to “Moment’s Notice” and the wonderful standard, “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes.” The only letdown is provided by Red Time, whose “Take the Trane” is a well–meant but uninteresting mixture of rap, hip–hop and special effects laced with some straight–ahead blowing by tenor saxophonist Ellwood. The rest of the album is first–class.

Track Listing: Syeeda’s Song Flute; My Favorite Things; Moment’s Notice; Naima; Touch Me Lightly; Giant Steps; The Night Has a Thousand Eyes; I Want to Talk About You; Moment’s Notice; Take the Trane (55:18)

Personnel: Tracks 1, 5 — Benny Golson, tenor saxophone; Mike LeDonne, piano; Dwayne Burno, bass; Joe Farnsworth, drums. Track 2 — David Liebman, soprano saxophone; Vic Juris, guitar; Tony Martin, bass; Jamey Haddad, drums. Tracks 3, 7 — Claudio Roditi, trumpet; Bob Mintzer, tenor saxophone; Joe Ford, alto saxophone; Eddie Monteiro, accordion, voice; Lenny Argese, guitar; Alberto Beserra, bass; Guilherme Franco, drums. Tracks 4, 9 — Billy Taylor, piano; Chip Jackson, bass; Steve Johns, drums. Track 6 — Ted Rosenthal, piano. Track 8 — David Liebman, soprano saxophone; Vic Juris, guitar. Track 10 — Ethan Eubanks, voice; Peter Nylander, guitar; Tim Luntzel, bass; Mark Zubek, drums; Jeff Ellwood, saxophone; Justin Mullens, Keichi Hashimoto, trumpet; Vincent Le Brun, Dan Fox, trombone; Joe Cunningham, saxophone, flute.