Known for his work with saxophonist John Handy, White could largely be seen as a forward thinking 1960s violinist who, having embraced the harsh, distorting tonalities as well as rhythmic complexities of non-western music, influenced the likes of Billy Bang and John Blake. On this excellent two-for-one release, the key track is ‘John Coltrane Was Here’, a devotional piece that flags up White's stylistic debt to the master in no uncertain terms, though elsewhere the percussive, bells-laden backdrops of the music closely recall John Coltrane's great disciple Pharoah Sanders, and to a lesser extent early-Lonnie Liston Smith. While modal vamps and dark-hued melodies infuse the music with the kind of gravitas that has enabled it to age particularly well, the virtuosity of the leader, from razor sharp pizzicato motifs to buzz saw dissonance, is striking, to say the least. The decision to forgo a drum kit and place the time-keeping squarely on bassist Ray Drummond's shoulders gives the work a lithe Cuban charanga resonance from time to time, and White's strings sound all the better for it. This music has great charm.