Tenor saxophonist
Junior Cook
's final recording, cut less than two months before his death, finds the veteran hard bop stylist in surprisingly prime form, taking upbeat solos and swinging hard. On this CD, one can really hear the mutual influence that
Cook
had on
Joe Henderson
. Trumpeter
Valery Ponomarev
is also in particularly fine form, and the rhythm section (pianist
Mickey Tucker
, bassist
John Webber
and drummer
Joe Farnsworth
) is somewhat obscure but excellent. Three group originals,
Cedar Walton
's
"Fiesta Espanol"
and four standards (including a warm tenor feature on
"Warm Valley"
and a hard-swinging
"Mr. P.C."
) comprise what was one of
's finest sessions as a leader; he definitely exited on top. ~ Scott Yanow