A collection of standards, covers, and Blake originals recorded at WGBH Studio in Boston in 1998, half of the album solo piano, half in duos with guitarist David Fabris and clarinetist Guillermo Gregorio; a wonderfully paced album showing the distinctive approach Blake brings to jazz by merging elements of compositional, gospel, folk, blues and more.
"The world of Ran Blake beckons once again in these performances and, once again, we cannot resist being drawn into that world. We dodge through its shadows and its bright, glaring expanses, alert to the caverns and crevices from which the pianist's images emerge - now gentle, now brutal, always unretouched. The cinematic content of Blake's music, its use of montage and dramatic dissolves, has long been acknowledged. When he works in the short forms he favors here, there is also the clarity and unsparing honesty of a short story collection by an author like the late Raymond Carver. Extra-musical allusions are unavoidable when music evokes all five senses, as Blake's music inevitably does."-Bob Blumenthal
"Ran Blake is original enough to defy comparisons with other pianists of his generation, except of the most general kind. You could say, for instance, that his mid-range dynamics and predilection for understatement recall Bley, but his concerns are vastly different as regards development, harmony and material. Blake's harmonic sense is perhaps his most interesting asset. He consistently finds chords and sequences that are not quite what you expect. I am reminded of the way Messiaen intersperses bald triads with subtly-corrupted creations, but Blake's system is less obvious. Whatever it is, it's far removed from the W.C. Handy-Bud Powell continuum, but he can adopt a spiritual like "Elijah Rock" as effectively as standards, pop pieces, or jazz tunes. David Fabris contributes very interesting guitar and Guillermo Gregorio thoughtful clarinet, so that about half the tunes are duos. Both do a great job fitting in, which is no mean feat."-Duck Baker, JazzTimes