Recorded in 1958, this legendary date with the still-undersung
Sonny Clark
in the leader's chair also featured a young
Jackie McLean
on alto (playing with a smoother tone than he had before or ever did again), trumpeter
Art Farmer
, and the legendary rhythm section of bassist
Paul Chambers
and drummer
Philly Joe Jones
, both from the
Miles Davis
band. The set begins with one of the preeminent "swinging medium
blues"
pieces in
jazz
history: the title track with its leveraged fours and eights shoved smoothly up against the walking bass of
Chambers
and the backbeat shuffle of
Jones
.
Clark
's solo, with its grouped fifths and sevenths, is a wonder of both understatement and groove, while
' arco solo turns the
blues
in on itself. While there isn't a weak note on this record, there are some other tracks that stand out, most notably
Miles
' "Sippin' at Bells," with its loping
Latin
rhythm. When
McLean
takes his solo against a handful of
's shaded minor chords, he sounds as if he may blow it -- he comes out a little quick -- but he recovers nicely and reaches for a handful of Broadway
show tunes
to counter the minor mood of the piece. He shifts to both
Ben Webster
and
Lester Young
before moving through
Bird
, and finally to
himself, riding the margin of the changes to slip just outside enough to add some depth in the middle register. The LP closes with
Henderson
Vallee
's "Deep Night," the only number in the batch not rooted in the
. It's a classic
hard bop
jamming tune and features wonderful solos by
Farmer
, who plays weird flatted notes all over the horn against the changes, and
, who thinks he's playing a kind of snake charmer
in
swing
tune. This set deserves its reputation for its soul appeal alone. [Some reissues include two bonus tracks: "Royal Flush" and "Lover."] ~ Thom Jurek