Trumpeter Woody Shaw recorded a hard bop session with saxophonist Tone Jansa, pianist Renato Chicco, bassist Peter Herbert, and drummer Dragan Gajic in 1985. The six tunes, all Jansa's compositions, reveal Jansa's skill with the pen as well as with his tenor, soprano, and flute. Shaw died several years later at the age of 44; his tragic death came after he was hit by a subway train in New York City and lost an arm. Noted for his powerful technique, confident tone, and accurate articulation, the trumpeter worked with Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Jackie McLean, Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, and others.

The opening tune, "Midi," is in 11/8 time; now that's interesting! Naturally, it adds to the excitement, but the driving hard bop lines are present all through every track. "Boland" features Jansa's flute, and is no doubt a tribute to Belgian composer and pianist Francis "Francy" Boland who, with Kenny Clarke, led one of the finest bebop big bands of the `60s and `70s. The Francy-Boland Big Band toured and recorded from 1959 to 1973, producing several exceptional big band albums. Showing an obvious Coltrane influence on soprano and tenor, Jansa blends in unison with the trumpeter and stretches out on his own. The soprano saxophone timbre on "River" combines well with the brassy trumpet, and his tenor saxophone, similarly, fits well with the flugelhorn timbre on the ballad "Folk Song." On "Call Mobility" the hard-edged tenor maintains the pace while Shaw switches from trumpet to flugelhorn, offering different timbre combinations. There are a few serious intonation problems in "River," as Shaw pushes the limits of his range in both directions; otherwise, the session is memorable and demonstrates the classic hard bop style.