Their mission, should they decide to accept it: play old spy themes with swing and soul. Mission Possible. Akira Tana’s sextet pulls it off with fun retro-cool sans gimmickry. Once again teamed with supremo bassist Rufus Reid, Tana’s drumming leads the pack with nimble touch and urgent groove. Setting this apart from previous TanaReid CDs is the inspired addition of Lonnie Smith’s sumptuous, grooving B-3 setting the tone. It’s also exciting hearing Tana joined by a percussionist, the fiery Chuggy Carter, bringing out the tight, compositional side in the leader’s kit work. Case closed.

— Jeff Potter

© 2002 Modern Drummer