In keeping with high standards set by the U.K.'s Proper label, Proper Box 55 easily qualifies as the finest single-package anthology ever devoted to the works of tenor saxophonist
Wardell Gray (1921-1955). His best recordings, which are well represented throughout this four-CD set, reveal the combined influences of
Lester Young and
Charlie Parker. Born in Oklahoma City, he was raised and schooled in Detroit, where he played his first professional engagements in the company of trumpeter
Howard McGhee and saxophonist
Big Nick Nicholas. In 1943,
Gray was hired by
Budd Johnson to play in the
Earl Hines Orchestra. The first five tracks represent
Gray's adventures with this exciting big band during 1945 and 1946. A more thorough sampling that reaches back to his first appearances on record in October of 1944 was released under
Gray's name on the French import Masters of Jazz label in 1999, while two volumes in the
Earl Hines portion of the Classics chronological series covered similar ground with comparable precision. After touring with the
Hines band,
Gray moved to Los Angeles and spent the years 1946-1947 recording for multiple labels as a rising star of the West Coast bop scene. This segment of
Gray's career is invoked by his interactions with
Howard McGhee, pianist
Dodo Marmarosa, and saxophonists
Dexter Gordon and
Sonny Criss.