Organist
Joey DeFrancesco clearly had a good time during this jam session. His fine quintet (which has strong soloists in altoist
Robert Landham, trumpeter
Jim Henry, and especially guitarist
Paul Bollenback) starts things off with a run-through of "rhythm changes" during "The Eternal One" and the hornless trio cuts loose on a swinging "I'll Remember April," but otherwise all of the other selections feature guests. Tenors
Illinois Jacquet,
Grover Washington, Jr.,
Houston Person, and
Kirk Whalum all fare well on separate numbers (
Jacquet steals the show on "All of Me"), and on the closing blues
DeFrancesco interacts with fellow organist
Captain Jack McDuff. Few surprises occur overall (the tenors should have all played together), but the music is quite pleasing and easily recommended to
DeFrancesco's fans. ~ Scott Yanow