Back in the day, virtually every tenor player had such a distinctive sound, you knew immediately who it was. Times have certainly changed. Perhaps the one real exception is Bergonzi. The liner notes on his new CD offer an astute technical explanation. He likes a reed to vibrate. He then uses multi-fabricated vibrato techniques ‘to procure a natural stereo sound that catapults his herculean force field into a polytonal domain. His distinctive ability to merge lower-register brawniness with high-pitched inflections spawn composite characteristics that set him apart from his peers’. This is especially apparent perhaps when working with another hornman and in his harmonically challenging arrangements, which are exceptional here. Canadian trumpeter Phil Grenadier, Larry's brother, has always been into experimental free-form and inspires Bergonzi to dig deep into his inventive imagination. The presence of Bruce Barth, who plays an important role on the date, adds to the extended harmonic mix, especially on ‘Rise Up’, the opening ‘Awake’ and the title tune, which also has a robust drum solo by long-time associate Andrea Michelutti. Same goes for bassist Santoro, who has several strong solo spots and who leads into ‘An Internal Affair’. There's a typically distinctive Bergonzi ballad (‘Tidlig’), but arguably the strongest tracks are the title song and ‘To Do It To Do It’. Jerry Bergonzi just gets better with age.