As the
Paul Desmond/
Jim Hall quartet's recording activities gradually came to a halt by 1965, RCA Victor assembled the remains of a number of their later sessions into one last album. These are anything but leftovers, however -- indeed, they constitute the best
Desmond/
Hall album since
Take Ten, more varied in texture and mood, and by and large more inspired in solo content, than
Bossa Antigua and
Glad to Be Unhappy. As a near-ideal example of this collaboration at its intuitive peak, "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" opens with
Hall paraphrasing the tune, and
Desmond comes in on the bridge with a perfectly timed rejoinder that sounds as if he's asking a question. "Here's That Rainy Day" is another apt match of a standard to
Desmond's sophisticated personality; he is at his dry, jaunty best on the uptempo "That Old Feeling"; and both have a ball jamming on the blues in
Desmond's wry, quick "Blues for Fun." [Some reissues add a pair of outtakes, plus "Rude Old Man."] ~ Richard S. Ginell