Carlos Garnett made his biggest impact in the late '60s and 1970s, when his intense tenor playing was heard on recordings by Art Blakey, Miles Davis and Norman Connors. Garnett spent a lot of time off the scene in the 1980s but emerged in the '90s in fine form, if a bit more conservative. For this 1996 CD, Garnett is joined by pianist Carlton Holmes, bassist Brad Jones and drummer Shingo Okudaira, playing mostly originals (plus Freddie Hubbard's "Little Sunflower") that are spiritually linked to the music of the John Coltrane Quartet. Fortunately, the musicians do not attempt to sound like their predecessors; Garnett has an original tone of his own, and the improvising has its subtle surprises. Worth checking out. ~ Scott Yanow

Rovi