One of the founding fathers of funk and soul-jazz piano in action in 1969 (four years after its million-selling hit with The In Crowd), Ramsey Lewis's trio rocking its way through the repeating licks that set plenty of fans bopping their way to the record stores, and plenty of jazzbos grumbling about commercialism. The formula is as you'd expect, but though Lewis by now felt obliged to disguise his jazz-improv skills his licks-playing is undeniably engaging, his sense of dynamics and drama acute, and the drumming of Maurice White, before his departure to Earth, Wind & Fire, very tight and commanding.

Lewis does unfurl his classical-grounded acoustic lyricism on a torridly romantic account of the ballad How Beautiful Is Spring, but the presence of the great funk guitarist Phil Upchurch on three tracks is the real bonus - even if you don't hear that much of him, except the typical singing high sounds and chunky rhythm playing on the driving Bold and Black. There's lots of shouting of "All right!" and Do it!" in the background, of course.