Think a much more swinging hard bop-attuned Andy Sheppard, Dave O’Higgins remains a popular draw on the jazz club scene. He should be better known internationally given his easy Dexterity and retro fluency. Put it this way: he is no stick in the mud even if the style he plays in is often unfairly maligned.

Like a lot of middle-aged jazzers he suffers for profile. Partly this is because he is neither young and unheard of enough to be “new” nor elderly enough to fill the “legend” grandad-jazz vacancy. His style falls within the mainstream/straightahead domain, which gets little media support even within specialist jazz press. 

If you are allergic to the Hammond organ, which flavours the album, see a doctor or avoid this record. However, for those not so indisposed organist Ross Stanley, (you may recall from his fine work with Dennis Rollins and Billie Holiday stylist Rebecca Ferguson) is a sympathetic and stylishly swelling accompanist to the big O who operates as one half of a bouncing two-tenor front line with Max Ionata.  

An updated more nimble take on the Johnny Griffin and Eddie Lockjaw Davis approach is what they all come up with on one level (even bearing in mind that its name draws on a 1990s Roy Hargrove elders-saluting album of the same name) Tenors of Our Time (***1/2) is worth a go even if O’Hig does not always get enough powerful support from the over-orthodox drummer Luca Santaniello. With O’Hig however playing so well it is only a matter of time until he really grabs the limelight once again preferably without another tenor player riding along shotgun but with a good producer on hand to deliver a few curveballs. He has time and a huge reservoir of skill at his disposal and this is once again a classy enough heritage record very much worth a careful listen warts and all. SG