During the month of June 1980, tenor saxophonist
Illinois Jacquet recorded an LP with a group composed of 73-year-old trombonist
Vic Dickenson, pianist
Barry Harris, guitarist
Gray Sargent, bassist
Slam Stewart, and drummer
Grady Tate. Mature and full of stamina,
Illinois sounded more than a little like
Coleman Hawkins did during his glorious protracted sunset in the late '50s and early '60s. Originally released as Illinois Jacquet With His All Star New York Band, this excellent album was reissued (with two bonus tracks) in 2007, carelessly retitled
The New York Sessions, as if
Jacquet had never previously worked in New York City. This is mainstream jazz at its very finest; the solo sequencing is intelligently varied and the sound mix is luscious, especially as engineer
Phil Clendinnin gave
Slam Stewart's bass a healthy boost for old time's sake. "Bow Jest" begins and ends as a feature for
Slam's singing/bowing technique, and "G Baby" is a languid, laid-back ten-minute hunk of blues that must be one of
Jacquet's all-time heaviest excursions in the idiom. The standards -- including a brisk 13 minutes of "Lover Come Back" -- are excellent, double takes and all, but "G Baby" is worth the price of admission all by itself.