Along with its fellow CD,
Groove Blues, this reissue fully documents all of the music recorded by tenor saxophonist
Gene Ammons on the busy day of January 3, 1958. Although there were many guest soloists, only one of the four songs on this half of the set (
Mal Waldron's "The Real McCoy") has appearances by
John Coltrane (on alto) and the tenor of
Paul Quinichette. However, baritonist
Pepper Adams is aboard for two of the performances, and flutist
Jerome Richardson (along with pianist
Mal Waldron, bassist
George Joyner, and drummer
Art Taylor) are on all four.
Ammons is easily the main star (he really excelled in this setting) and is in generally fine form on the two standards ("That's All" and "Cheek to Cheek"), his own "Blue Hymn," and the
Waldron original. ~ Scott Yanow