While you might expect standard piano trio lines from Mike Cain, he doesn’t deliver them on What Means This? Rather, the threesome, joined on four tracks by percussionist Paul Hannah, actually interact with each other and through the material, extending themselves and doing more than just responding and reacting on cue. Drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith deserves much of the credit for this. His precise, attacking, subtle support allows Cain and bassist Anthony Cox to venture out and experiment without the compositions losing coherence or organization. – Ron Wynn