"Im something of a dinosaur," Antonio Hart says with playful irony. "Im among the last of my generation to directly learn from the [original] masters-Jimmy Heath (still active, bless him), Art Blakey, James Moody, and Dizzy Gillespie. Like Master Gillespie said, Ive one foot in the past and one in the present." While Blessings sax/organ/guitar/drums line- up evokes the classic, blues/R&B-inspired soul jazz combos of the 1960s and 70s, this set is an homage to a classic era but not a tribute. "Tributes" can be too reverential sometimes, whereas Blessings finds Hart absorbing aspects of that tradition to create an album thats classic in its own right, as opposed to recreating what was done before (not that theres anything wrong with that).