MLK Convergence

No, this is not a tribute to the legacy of Martin Luther King, but instead the MLK monicker refers to the first letter of the names of bassist/leader Marlene Rosenberg, drummer Lewis Nash and pianist Kenny Barron. You can also throw in Christian McBride for a couple cameos, as he bows on the hip blues "And Still We Rise" and digs a deep pulse for the vocals of Rosenberg with Thomas Burrell and Robert Irving III for a social rap poem on "Not The Song I Wanna Sing."

Other than that, you get Rosenberg delivering a hip line on the Horace Silver-inspired 9/8 "American Violet" and a classy workout for Barron on "Togetherness." Kenny bops on "The Barron" and chimes with Rosenberg for the classy "Loves In Need of Love Today." Her pulse is assertive as she does a three legged race with Nash on the dashing "The Line Between" and the three create a rich fragrance for "Circle Story." Classy and classic.