Pete Jolly and his sidemen (bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Nick Martinis) celebrated their 21st year as a regularly working trio with this fine V.S.O.P. CD. The musicians sound quite enthusiastic and creative within the boundaries of straight-ahead jazz, showing that they had not run out of ideas yet.
Jolly alternates hot pieces with ballads, standards with obscurities. It is a particular pleasure to hear the powerful pianist interpret such rarely performed songs as
George Wallington's "Variations," "Crazeology,"
Al Cohn's brooding ballad "Ah-Moore" and
Shorty Rogers' "Diablo's Dance." Other highlights of the enjoyable set include
Horace Silver's "Yeah," "Lullaby of the Leaves" and
Zoot Sims' "The Red Door." All those years of playing together have definitely paid off. ~ Scott Yanow