And The Jazz Greats of Our Time: Vol 1

Sealed - Brand new 180 gram vinyl.

Manny Albam's decision to quit playing and stick exclusively to arranging, composing, and leading large ensembles produced many fine records during the 1950s and 1960s, though most of them, such as this Coral LP, have unjustly languished out of print for decades. Albam leads a truly all-star tentet with Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Bob Brookmeyer, Nick Travis, and Art Farmer, along with a rhythm section consisting of Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, and Osie Johnson. Most of these 1957 sessions are devoted to Albam's cool but swinging original works, each of which features great solos and superb interplay among the musicians. One oddity is the inclusion of the 1920s-era "My Sweetie Went Away," which somewhat resembles Mulligan's composition "Jeru," though the playing is first-rate. Cohn trades his usual tenor sax for baritone to join Mulligan in Albam's humorous "Poor Dr. Millmous" (whose title was inspired by a James Thurber cartoon). [A Lone Hill Jazz compilation rescued this and its follow-up on a 2-CD set.] ~ Ken Dryden