The first track by The Clayton Brothers is an excellent example of the Hard Bop idiom. From a compositional perspective it makes use of a theme, development, variation, improvisation, rigid adherence to time, and a seeming disintegration into rubato, The musical terracing, a key component of Hard Bop, is evident throughout; never is a theme quite played the same twice, and each journey through the chord changes are just ever so slightly different. And on the personal level, you can hear the honest truth coming from each of the players. There is nothing artificial in this performance; it is so real, the joy it brings almost hurts.

We have a chance to hear Bob James revisit one of his smooth jazz signature pieces but this time from a very straight ahead perspective as well hear Dianne Reeves give a compelling performance of a standard.

On the funky side, Benny Green takes an old spiritual and gives a swinging testimonial of what three guys armed with axes do with an audience. The soulfulness of this performance harkens to the early 1960s Ramsey Lewis Trio, a time at which the members of the trio had not even yet been born.

From the remainder of the hour, we take a trip by car, by train, and then on foot. The sights and sounds of Paris and San Francisco of the mid-1950s are captured by Clifford Brown, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus. If you close your eyes, you might just find yourself transported to another scene. Charlie Watts and Louis Jordan remind us of life underground, waiting on the platform for the next train to take us to our destination. And The Clayton Brothers serve notice of what we might experience as we walk through our day, and how our choices shape that which we experience.