Brass Knuckles is saxophonist Massey's debut as a band leader. In addition to working with Sun Ra, he has recorded six LPs with Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society. This trio consists of a drummer and bassist he's worked with for several years. Massey's sound is obviously influenced by Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane (Zane's father, trumpeter/composer/arranger Cal Massey, would jam with people like Coltrane and Billy Higgins when Zane was a child and composed songs for Charlie Parker, Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard). Even will all this influence, Massey (like any acclaimed jazz artist) has a style that's his own. And he chose well in Hideiji Taninaka (bass) and Sadiq M. Abdu Shahid (drums). An emotional, blues attitude underrides the songs, often in an uplifting way. Massey serves his father's memory well with an excellent debut. (Nick Lingg)