Tia Fuller & Shamie Fuller-Royston: Fuller Sound: Dynasty (Volume 2)

On Dynasty, Volume 2, sisters in song Tia Fuller and Shamie Fuller-Royston continue a family musical tradition once shared with their late parents, Fred and Elthopia Fuller as the Fuller Sound. Now it is essentially an alto saxophone (Tia) and piano (Shamie) duo, with Tia adding her voice on two numbers, her own "Momma Said" and Shamie's "In This Quiet Place."

Tia is a Grammy-nominated jazz saxophonist whose credentials are wide-ranging and well-known. Shamie plays a more classical-oriented piano with occasional jazz inroads, ad-libbing at times while Tia handles most of the improvisational workload.

There is an unexplained voice on the opening number, "Windsoar," which is most likely their father's, reminiscing about the group's early days and how the name Fuller Sound came to be. "Windsoar" leads to the more animated "Dooty Baby," written for younger brother Ashton, and then to the theme on which Shamie perhaps feels most at home, the fugue-like "Ode to Bach," which she first heard on an episode of the children's TV show Sesame Street.

Tia's vocal on "Momma Said," although decent enough, does not compare with her saxophone playing. "Momma Said" is the fourth new composition by the sisters, who turn next to Sam Rivers and his winsome "Beatrice," one of two songs not written by Tia or Shamie (the other is Freddie Hubbard's "Dear John," his clever adaptation of John Coltrane's memorable "Giant Steps.") Tia's second vocal is on Shamie's even-tempered "In This Quiet Place," which precedes "Dear John" and Shamie's closing number, the brief but lyrical "Black Viking," which gently ushers the album into the void.

As a musical performance, Dynasty is splendid. As a jazz session, rather less so. It does have its impressive moments, thanks to Tia's considerable talents as a soloist and to the sisters' snug interplay.