’Ironside’ sees the band contnuing to push boundaries, and lead the way, with this new genre defying recording. The quartet’s fresh, high energy sound is rooted in the spiritual concepts of John Coltrane and Yusef Lateef, paying homage to The Headhunters and Weather Report heyday, whilst stll adoptng infuences from hip hop, Afrobeat and the UK underground culture. ”Ironside” – meaning someone who is “courageous and possessing great physical and mental strength” sums up the Ruby Ruston journey so far. A personal, against the odds journey, that required Tenderlonious startng a label, 22a, back in 2013. Nobody much cared about jazz back in 2011 when the frst Ruby Ruston album (‘Two For Joy’) was recorded, so the 22a platorm was built, a home for friends and members of the family to release music from. Fast forward to 2019 and the jazz landscape is looking a whole lot healthier. The album’s ttle track embodies its meaning more than any other track on the album. A highly technical, jazzy jungle mover, held down by Tim Carnegie’s drums and Tenderlonious’ expeditous fute solo. ”The Return Of The Hero” nods most explicitly to the ever-present fute hero Yusef Lateef, the prancing dance of “Eleven Grapes” builds a locked groove perpetually upwards in spirals of dizzying frency, whilst “Triceratops The Caller” evokes alternatng contributons from 4 Hero’s sampled breaks, J-Dilla’s loping beats and Lonnie Liston Smith’s cosmic keys, all of which coalesce in a perfect, joyous blend. The solemn beauty of “Prayer for Greenfell” is a respectul and dignifed memorial, beftng of the magnitude of many lives stolen and “Pingwin VI” is dedicated to another hero of Tenderlonious – the Polish jazz legend Kristof Komeda.