Two years after , his initial journey into the music of the , saxophonist digs even deeper. Once again, he's supported by his killer Detroit band -- bassist , guitarist , keyboardist , and drummer -- with longtime friends and colleagues in percussionist and keyboardist . The nine-song set also features a star-studded guest list. Opener "Playing in the Band" is performed by 's quintet, along with and . They get funky almost immediately thanks to 's syncopated breaks before a gritty tenor delivers the melody, and they play the hell out of the vamp and handle the middle eight with elegance. Framed by a lilting B-3, upright bass, and drum kit, 's solo weds post-bop to contemporary soul jazz. The last two minutes offer skittering organs, punchy guitars, and drums, with soaring up top. The minimal blues guitar intro on "China Cat Sunflower" echoes 's original, with employing tenor and a lilting flute. While the opted for exploratory psychedelia, delivers danceable jazz-funk adorned with a killer tenor solo and exceptional modal piano from . "Bird Song" is introduced by a flute before sparse, rumbling kick drums, poetic guitar, and guest ' upright bass open the gate to jazz. The band is economical, as a two-chord piano vamp frames 's tenor working the lyric vamp before paving the way for solos, including a beauty from . Criminally under-recorded country singer-songwriter sings highlight "To Lay Me Down." A short, rippling piano intro, reedy tenor, and sparse percussion that offers a subtle nod to , before 's fingerpicked acoustic guitar introduces the singer. Convicted and tender, he has never appeared with such vulnerability before. ' upright, 's electric, and guest 's pedal steel wrap the resonant singer as frames him in modal soloing. The funky read of "Truckin'" quotes from ' "Green Onions" with 's organ the star component. lends his piano to both "The Other One" and "If I Had the World to Give." The former offers a three-minute post-bop intro with striking interplay between pianist and saxophonist. When the jamming begins, rock and funk inform ' smoking bass line, and 's careening guitar and 's keyboard stack. "Scarlet Begonias," sung by , employs a danceable, NOLA second line groove. The band gels behind the singer, propelling the tune into winding jazz-funk with overdubbed tenor saxes adding color and texture, illustrated by 's taut breaks. Closer "Crazy Fingers" is delivered by the quintet with a languid, melodic intro before shape-shifting into rocksteady reggae and transforming again into a rock anthem with transcendent soloing from . easily equals the quality of its predecessor. Taken together, they create one of the more spirited, musically adventurous jazz-funk portraits of the 's music. ~ Thom Jurek