Product Review

24 BIT
DIGITALLY REMASTERED
3 LPs on 2 CDs
STEREO
Of all the tenor saxophonists who have come roaring out of Lionel Hampton's band, Texas tenor Arnett Cobb always seemed the most likely to allow his essentially rich and swinging style to stand on its own merits. He demonstrated it in these relaxed, unpretentious sessions amid congenial, inventive company, including some of the most accomplished and soulful pianists around, with Ray Bryant, Tommy Flanagan, and Bobby Timmons providing some lean and lithely moving solos on these implacably swinging dates. The setting allowed one of the most assertive of the roistering tenorists to work his way into piece after piece, developing gracefully structured lines in his rough, tweedy tone. Forceful, virile and uncomplicated, an assertive reflection of its time and place, the music retains the capacity to reach directly into the emotions, unhindered by the passage of time.