Time Gone By is a hard one to classify, because it varies so much from track to track. About half of the tunes are ballads, but there are also hard driving melodies like "Rude on Purpose" and "Theme for Dos Lyn." Mace Hibbard's music selections are generally mainstream, but you can hear enough of Hibbard's influences, such as John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner, to give depth to his compositions (he wrote all 12 songs on the CD).

Hibbard gives a lot of space for solos to his band members: Melvin Jones on trumpet, Louis Heriveaux on piano, Marc Miller on acoustic bass and Justin Varnes on drums. They are a tight unit, especially when Hibbard and Jones play lines together.

There are a few points on the ballads that sound like background music, but there are also beautiful compositions like the mid-tempo "Hallowed Ground," and the bop-influenced "Slip & Slide." Hibbard gives a lot worth listening to on this CD.

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