Trumpeter
Donald Byrd and baritone saxophonist
Pepper Adams worked together on several recordings between 1958 and 1961, and
The Cat Walk (released on LP in 1962) is among the best. A quintet setting, with pianist
Duke Pearson (another longtime
Byrd collaborator), bassist
Laymon Jackson, and a lively
Philly Joe Jones on drums joining the front line of
Byrd and
Adams, the sessions for
The Cat Walk benefited from the writing and arrangement skills of
Pearson, who contributes three compositions here, the impressive opener "Say You're Mine," "Duke's Mixture," and "Hello Bright Sunflower," which borrows its melodic structure from the opening bars of "Lullaby of Broadway" and features
Byrd using a muted trumpet.
Byrd contributed the title track, which attempts to capture the coiled, taut, but somehow still relaxed and assured gait of a tomcat, thanks in no small part to
Jones' inspired drumming which hits the mark with stops and turns and smooth run-outs that are indeed very feline in nature.
Byrd's playing throughout is typically sleek and lyrical, and
Adams' sturdy, husky baritone sound is the perfect counterbalance, making
The Cat Walk an essential
Byrd purchase. ~ Steve Leggett