Sonny Clark's fifth Blue Note recording as a leader is generally regarded as his best, especially considering he composed four of the seven tracks, and they all bear his stamp of originality. What is also evident is that he is shaping the sounds of his quintet rather than dominating the proceedings as he did on previous dates. Tenor saxophonist
Charlie Rouse and trumpeter
Tommy Turrentine play very little harmony on the date, but their in-tune unison lines are singularly distinctive, while bassist
Butch Warren and young drummer
Billy Higgins keep the rhythmic coals burning with a steady, glowing red heat. Among the classic tunes is the definitive hard bop opener "Somethin' Special," which lives up to its title in a most bright and happy manner, with
Clark merrily comping chords. "Melody for C" is similarly cheerful, measured, and vivid in melodic coloration. The showstopper is "Voodoo," the ultimate late-night slinky jazz tune contrasted by
Clark's tinkling piano riffs.
Warren wrote the exciting hard bopper "Eric Walks" reminiscent of a
Dizzy Gillespie tune, while
Turrentine's "Midnight Mambo" mixes metaphors of Afro-Cuban music with unusual off-minor phrases and
Rouse's stoic playing. Tenor saxophonist
Ike Quebec plays a cameo sans the other horns on the soulful ballad "Deep in a Dream," exhibiting a vocal quality on his instrument, making one wonder if any other sessions with this group were done on the side. Top to bottom,
Leapin' and Lopin' is a definitive recording for
Clark, and in the mainstream jazz idiom, as well. ~ Michael G. Nastos