It starts off with lovely Caribbean flavors. The sound is crisp and clean. Blue Mitchell was a wonderful player. I’ve got to get some more of his stuff into the collection. Another earlier one of his that I love and have on the shelf is “Blue’s Moods” released on Riverside in 1960. There are many more to keep my eyes out for. On the featured album he is backed by Junior Cook on tenor (a cat I haven’t explored at all), Chick Corea on piano (got to dive into his catalogue as well), Gene Taylor on double bass and Al Foster on drums. A great group, very cohesive.
I quite enjoy the tenor playing of Junior Cook, he’s got a nice approach. He is yet another example for me, even though I’ve listened to jazz for so many years, that there is still so much more to explore and wonderful artists to discover more in depth. Chick Corea is another one. I must admit, I take things slowly. The benefit then being that the flow of unexplored jazz artists and albums will not dry up anytime soon for me.
The music on this album is very easy to grasp. It offers no big surprises, just good jazz. Perfect for a lazy afternoon. The sound of this original mono pressing, which was an eBay grab for a very fair price, is lovely.
Hope you guys are doing great and that you are enjoying your collections. Christmas is not far away now, looking forward to some time off with the family. Cheers!