This album is another welcome entry in the reissues of the Chicago-based Vee-Jay jazz albums recorded during the 1950s and 1960s. One of the Two-in-One series (which takes two sessions originally issued on separate LPs and puts them on a single CD), there's a serious amount of music provided -- in this case, over 76 minutes.
The first set comes from a straight-ahead 1960 session lead by pianist
Eddie Higgins, with Chicago-based trumpet player
Paul Serrano and
Count Basie tenor man
Frank Foster joining in on three of the album's seven cuts. The
Higgins-composed "Zarac, the Evil One" is the source of one of the album's more attractive tracks. Starting off with Serrano and Foster playing in unison, with
Higgins' piano comping behind them and seguing into a
Higgins' boppish solo.
Higgins' deftness on the piano is heard best on "Falling in Love with Love" and "AB's Blues," where he and the rhythm section, which keeps things moving along throughout the album, go all out to give a bouncy, buoyant rendition of these tunes.
The Benny Green half of the CD was initially issued in 1958 under the title The Swingin'est and was the first jazz album issued by Vee-Jay. It's a much more interesting session than the
Higgins' set. Featuring such young lions of the 1950s bop scene as Green,
Nat Adderley, and
Gene Ammons -- who are joined by
Count Basie players
Frank Wess and, once again,
Frank Foster -- the session is also graced by the inimitable piano player from Detroit,
Tommy Flanagan, with Al "Tootie" Heath anchoring the rhythm section. This is one of those blowing sessions that replaced the older jam sessions during the 1950s and 1960s. And blow these players did on such barn burners as "Jugging Around." On this piece, Adderley's trumpet is sassy, while Heath's drums lay out a breathtaking beat. There's excellent ensemble work on Foster's "Going South." Saving the best for last, "Swingin' for Benny" kicks off with a blistering Flanagan solo with the ensemble following in behind and then everyone taking off with extended solo relentlessly urged on by Heath's drums. This latter piece was originally issued on an LP called Juggin' Around. This album has fine music played by young, vigorous musicians, most of whom became jazz giants. ~ Dave Nathan