This single CD (which reissues all of the music from an earlier two-LP set) includes the high point of singer
Jimmy Witherspoon's career. On October 2, 1959, he appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival and created such a sensation that it caused his career to go through a renaissance. Heard at the peak of his powers,
Witherspoon holds his own with a mighty group of veterans (trumpeter
Roy Eldridge, both
Ben Webster and
Coleman Hawkins on tenors, clarinetist
Woody Herman, pianist
Earl Hines, bassist
Vernon Alley, and drummer
Mel Lewis). Although the five-song set only lasted 25 minutes,
Witherspoon's performance was the hit of the festival. The other half of this CD features
Witherspoon romping through ten mostly traditional blues songs two months later with
Webster, baritonist
Gerry Mulligan, pianist
Jimmy Rowles, bassist
Leroy Vinnegar, and drummer
Mel Lewis; the performance is equally exciting. Highly recommended, this CD is the one truly essential
Jimmy Witherspoon release. ~ Scott Yanow