Curtis Fuller was very busy as a leader between his recording debut in 1957 and these 1961 sessions, which made up his first LP for Impulse and his eighteenth overall disc of his own. Though not quite as adventurous on the trombone as
J.J. Johnson,
Fuller more than holds his own leading a band including
Freddie Hubbard,
Jimmy Heath,
Jymie Merritt, and either
Jimmy Cobb or G.T. Hogan on drums. The solos on this hard bop disc are superb, with
Fuller giving his musicians plenty of room, while his own work is first-rate. Three of the six pieces are originals and even if they never caught on, there is no filler present anywhere. ~ Ken Dryden