Trumpeter
Ron Miles' recorded debut as a leader is more of a blowing date than his later sets. Teamed up with some of Colorado's top players (
Fred Hess on tenor and flute, pianist
Art Lande, bassist Ken Walker and drummer Bruno Carr),
Miles explores two of his originals, one by
Hess,
Thelonious Monk's "Ugly Beauty," and
Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing," and
Charles Mingus' "Pithecanthropus Erectus"; the latter tune is rarely revived.
Miles displays an original tone and an active musical imagination during this excellent post-bop CD from the Denver-based Capri label. ~ Scott Yanow