Okay. So you say you want a bit of jazz, eh? What about some kicking, jamming jazz, the kind with periodic driving drums that pound away at you while everybody else rips off riffs that layer the sound in ways you don't expect? Well, then, here you go, this one's for you. The Great Jazz Trio brings it home with Someday My Prince Will Come, and this isn't any of that tinkling, quiet jazz, the kind you take home to momma. This is the pound on the door, explode in your face kind of jazz that delights in leading you places you weren't expecting: it's some serious jam-session jazz.

The trio consists of pianist Hank Jones and his drummer brother Elvin (drums), along with Richard Davis (bass). Elvin Jones was (until his death in May, 2004) considered one of the best jazz drummers around (some say the best), playing as part of the John Coltrane Quartet with his own Jazz Machine Band. Like Elvin, Hank Jones has been around the jazz scene for oh, a little while: he started playing with bands in Michigan in the mid-1940s, accompanied Ella Fitzgerald from 1948 to 1953, and bounced around as a freelance musician until forming the Great Jazz Trio in 1976 (albeit with a different drummer and bassist). Richard Davis is a professor of bass and black music studies at the University of Wisconsin, and is considered one of the most distinguished bassists in jazz today. The bottom line: these guys know their jazz. And on this album, which serves as a sort of "farewell tour" for Elvin, it definitely shows.

The first song out of the box, "Caravan," kicks it hard, with Elvin's drums leading the way, and the trio blow their way through a number of jazz and pop standards, including such songs as "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise," and "Satin Doll," as well as the waltzy title track. The bass is solid and the piano adds some serious spice with Hank Jones' sophisticated melodies, but ultimately it's the percussion that elevates Someday My Prince Will Come" above many pretenders: the intricate rhythmic patterns and cascading cymbals offer a rousing, swinging sound and provide the baseline of each song.