Ron Carter (with Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams): Third Plane

Ron Carter served as sideman on so many Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams sessions, and now he brings his stalwart colleagues out on his own date. The results are everything you would expect from this stellar trio. Hancock and Williams were coming off a period in their careers during which they had focused on building a crossover audience with fusion music. But here they are back in a mainstream attitude, and you can sense the sheer fun of their music-making. A great track, and the whole Third Plane CD stands out as one of the best trio recordings from a decade marked by outstanding threesomes. Highly recommended.