Released

No Way is straight up high energy soul-jazz from the off, with the high-paced opening title track providing an opportunity for the various soloists to let rip while IVJJ absolutely kills it on what is essentially a variation of 12-bar blues. There’s an effortlessness to the playing here which kind of washes over you, it’s all just so expertly phrased, each lick, chord and note so accurately placed in relation to every other part that the sheer skill involved is almost hidden. It’s the kind of playing that is so top-level you don’t notice how good it is, how the band are just perfectly locked in, even seven minutes after the track started. Funk, soul, blues, gospel, pop and jazz are all present here on one of Jones’ strongest album outings. 

Harold Heath