Pianist Chris McCarthy leads a post bop team of Takuya Kuroda/tp, Michael Blake/ts-fl, Sam Minaier/b and JK Kim/dr through some snappy originals. The leader shows strong fingers on the ivories as Minaie digs deap and Kuroda pops his horn on “Shockingly Effective” and his fingers fly on the tricky stop-start of “That’s All You Get”. The horns produce an eerie atmosphere on “The Nightmares” with Blake bringing a soft mood to the soft “Happy Tired” with Minaie adding an impressive time in the spotlight. Kim cracks the whip on the pulsating “Toasty” and grooves hard for the horns on “Ready, Steady, Here You Go!” No new earth uncovered, but rich roots are observable.