In the words of Marty McFly; this is heavy. Have some great albums by Booker Ervin, but still some left to try and find. This was one of the ones I was looking for, until just yesterday when I bought it from a local shop. Top condition 1st pressing with the Prestige trident at 3 o’clock, which was only released in stereo and recorded by Richard Alderson.
The personnel on this is amazing, with Booker on tenor, Jimmy Owens on trumpet and fluegelhorn, Garnett Brown on trombone, Jaki Byard on piano, Richard Davis on double bass and Alan Dawson on drums. Ervin’s bands always seem to be so tight and on point.
It kicks off with the up-tempo ”Bächafillen”, penned by Garnett, which is one of my favorites from this album. Great solo by the composer. Another favorite is the classic melancholy ballad ”You Don’t Know What Love Is”, on which Ervins lyrical and inspired playing is so beautiful. Love Byard here as well. ”Aluminum Baby” is a stroll paced number written by Byard which features a lovely tenor solo.
The second side starts with the groovy and catchy blues ”Not Quite That”, written by Garnett. The brilliant Jaki Byard’s crossover style is a joy to behold. ”Bei Mir Bist Du Shoen”, another favorite, begins in a dramatic cinematic fashion, and then rips into a smoking tempo with Booker taking a patented fiery solo, which should disarm any doubt for the listener, that you’re hearing one of the greatest tenor players in jazz. Jimmy Owens and Garnett take great solos as well with the latter really impressing me on the trombone. Jaki Byard owns proceedings after that with an original solo, which reminds me why he is one of my favorite pianists in jazz. Then back to the theme at the beginning. A lovely conclusion to a session that is probably in my top 3 favorite Ervin titles.