Kidd Jordan plays the saxophone like a master storyteller. With only a few notes, he makes it clear that he’s in control. He composes his music as he plays it, and each song twists and turns unexpectedly before it comes to an end. Jordan has been shamefully under-documented on record, particularly in the studio. Palm of Soul, however, is a worthy testament to the master’s prowess.

Palm of Soul sometimes sounds like a solo saxophone performance, but the 70-year-old musician and educator teams with drummer Hamid Drake, a Louisiana native, and bassist William Parker, two of the most active and talented free jazz musicians. Drake mainly plays frame drums and tablas, and Parker often sets aside his bass to offer percussion and layers of gongs. They give Jordan space. Instead of the squalls of notes and noise favored by some free players, Jordan fills that space with his dead powerful and thoughtful playing. “Forever,” for example, opens with a film noir vibe and moves to a somber conclusion. On “Living Peace,” Parker’s sinewy, bowed bass lines inspire Jordan. The album’s finale, “Last of the Chicken Wings,” swings with the rhythm of a heavy pendulum. As Parker taps gongs, the song builds like an epic.

The deliberate pace of the music creates a solemn mood, perhaps because Palm of Soul was recorded three weeks after Katrina destroyed Jordan’s home and city. The album, though, doesn’t dwell on sadness. It has as much joy as darkness. Like any well-told tale, Palm of Soul only gets better each time it’s heard.