Drummer Al Foster, 82, has played with the greats, adding his rhythmic touch behind trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist and composer Thelonious Monk and many more. For this outing, Reflections, he has assembled some of the finest jazz musicians of “now,” who continually heat up the scene as sidemen and leaders. They include New Orleans own multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Payton, who sticks with the trumpet here, saxophonist Chris Potter, pianist Kevin Hays and bassist Vicente Archer. It’s difficult to imagine a more capable group of artists out there today to team up with Foster. Their ensemble work breathes as one driven and persuaded by the leader’s impeccable, well-placed accents.

The album is solid from the get-go, kicking in with a Foster original, “T.S. Monk.” It boasts that stagger that was often typical of Monk and made prominent on the tune by Foster’s cunning attack. Here and throughout the album, the hugely talented guys get plenty of room to display their individuality during solos. Foster obviously had Monk in mind during the session, ending the release with another self-penned tribute, “Monk’s Bossa.”

Foster also turns to some other masters for material—Miles Davis, saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson and pianist McCoy Tyner that offers a great deal of diversity to the experience. The music swings, bebops, becomes melancholy, romantic, and at one point on “Six,” even spooky. Don’t worry, it turns happy with the splash of Foster’s cymbals.

Payton’s breathy trumpet slurs set off “Beat,” a tune that evolves from bar to bar and finally has Potter taking it farther out. Hays moves around freely with Archer’s tonally beautiful bass by his side. Meanwhile, Foster’s unpredictable style enhances each change of direction.

Reflections looks backward and forward as it proclaims the everlasting lineage of jazz music.