This is the fifth album in Smalls’ Living Masters series, and the latest to receive this encomium is the venerable 88-year-old tenor-saxophonist George Coleman, Memphis-born but a New Yorker for the past six decades. Caught live in this Big Apple club with which he’s been associated for years, the old master sounds agreeably relaxed, with just enough energy to make these pieces work for him. While his tone is no longer as robust as it once was, there’s still some puissance in it, even if the fluency is variable and the pauses are more obvious and more numerous.

His reading of ‘My Funny Valentine’ is thoughtful, the variations hanging together well, the phrases quite short, its mellow tempo suiting him. Wilner is the best kind of accompanist in circumstances like these, filling in the gaps, prompting and covering, while Washington and Farnsworth, almost the house rhythm section at Smalls, take care to support rather than overpower. The pianist’s solo on this old song is like a bubbling stream. Jobim’s ‘Meditation’ gets an opening tenor cadenza, Coleman more animated. ‘New York, New York’ is played first as a gentle rhapsody, Coleman keeping the melody in view, and letting the low notes ring before picking up the tempo, the rhythm punching in and swinging. ‘When Sunny Gets Blue’ is the next best thing on the album, Coleman’s twists and turns adding up to a very satisfying take on the tune, Wilner prodding discreetly as and when, and soloing fulsomely. Best to consider this album as a salute to an old campaigner, like a long service medal for jazz.