Dom Minasi is a hollowbody electric guitar player, a strong technician and a very tasteful player.  Here he's accompanied by Ken Filiano on Bass, John Bollinger on drums, Tomas Ulrich on cello, with wife Carol Mennie providing vocals for the closing "Round Midnight."  The liner notes make much of Minasi's previous Blue Note albums, the second of which suffers the misdirections of that label's management changes.  That experience soured Minasi on the record business and prompted a twenty-year retreat from recording as a leader, while continuously working as an accompanist and teacher.  In recent years he's returned to his own often augmented trio, while building a discography that includes recordings with Mark Whitecage and Blaise Siwula.

Starting the album with "Witch Hunt" from Wayne Shorter's 1964 Speak No Evil puts a stake in the ground of style and intent.  Except for Monk's "Round Midnight" Minasi pens all other pieces, paying compositional homage to Dizzy Gillespie, Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane along the way.  Careful listening brings out a wealth of harmonic sophistication alongside rapid fire playing that serves the music with excitement rather than simply showing off technical prowess.  The group works well together, Filiano adding a great deal of presence to standout numbers like the bopping "Be Op Be Op Be Ah," while Bolinger exhibits restraint in good counterpoint to the fiery gentleness of the string-heavy arrangements, mixing it up and keeping the rhythms interesting.  Minasi works well in both ballad and upbeat numbers, "For John" being a particularly lovely piece that recalls the softer side of Coltrane's music, while "Waltz for Eric" makes one wonder if smoke was pouring off his strings at the end of the number.

It's impressive how effortlessly Minasi shifts between rapid riffing and relaxed chord work or slower soloing.  While the use of cello often brings a bit too much sweetness to the sound, the choice of material and the direction keeps things serious yet elegant, a fine modern jazz recording that understands tradition without being trapped in it.