The Phil Norman Tentet intended their live recording at Catalina Jazz Club to be a tribute in part to veteran composer/arranger/pianist
Bob Florence, who had worked with Norman's tentet as a sideman when he wasn't leading his own big band. Sadly,
Florence passed away a few months prior to the release of this double CD. In any case, Norman's tentet features some of the top West Coast musicians, including trumpeters
Carl Saunders and Ron Stout, pianist
Christian Jacob (a fine leader himself and important asset to singer
Tierney Sutton's band), guitarist
Larry Koonse, along with the leader on tenor sax.
Florence's arrangement of
Miles Davis' "All Blues" alters its familiar chord changes, providing a great backdrop for solos by
Koonse,
Jacob and Stout. Kim Richmond contributed several great charts, including a tantalizing medley of
Horace Silver's "The Outlaw" and French pianist
Martial Solal's "Middle Jazz," both works deserving of wider recognition, while his cool scoring of the old country tune "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" also works rather well, showcasing altoist Rusty Higgins and
Saunders. With so many versions available of "A Night in Tunisia," it would seem like this tune is in danger of overexposure, but
Scott Whitfield's lively arrangement, which opens with a bit dissonance, is worth hearing. The one bit of excess is having the MC introduce the musicians at both the beginning and the end of the evening, either one should have been omitted, preferably the initial introduction, which most listeners will skip since there's no music underneath and it takes far too long. ~ Ken Dryden