Top Picks
Roy Brooks Quintet: Free Slave, Muse. George Coleman, tenor sax; Woody Shaw, trumpet; Hugh Lawson, piano; Cecil McBee, bass
Woody Shaw Quartet: Bemsha Swing, Blue Note. Geri Allen, piano; Robert Hurst, bass
Horace Silver Quintet
Doin' the Thing at the Village Gate, Blue Note. Junior Cook, tenor sax; Blue Mitchell, trumpet; Gene Taylor, bass
Horace-Scope, Blue Note. Junior Cook, tenor sax; Blue Mitchell, trumpet; Gene Taylor, bass
Sonny Stitt Quartet: Constellation, Muse. Barry Harris, piano; Sam Jones, bass
Sonny Stitt Quintet: Sonny Stitt ... Pow!, Import/Roulette. Benny Green, trombone; Kirk Lightsey, piano; Herman Wright, bass
Superior
Abdullah Ibrahim Trio: African Space Program, Enja. Cecil McBee, bass
Yusef Lateef Quartet: A Flat, G Flat and C, Impulse. Hugh Lawson, piano; Reggie Workman, bass
Blue Mitchell Quartet: Blue’s Moods, OJC/Riverside. Wynton Kelly, piano; Sam Jones, bass
Red Rodney Quintet: Bird Lives!, Muse. Charles McPherson, alto sax; Barry Harris, piano; Sam Jones bass (This remarkable date should have been a Top Pick, but Rodney’s chops are noticeably shaky.)
Hilton Ruiz Quintet: Excitation, SteepleChase. Frank Foster, tenor sax; Richard Williams, trumpet; Buster Williams, bass
Horace Silver Quintet: Silver’s Serenade, Blue Note. Junior Cook, tenor sax; Blue Mitchell, trumpet; Gene Taylor, bass
Buddy Tate Quartet: Meets Dollar Brand, Chiaroscuro. Abdullah Ibrahim (aka Dollar Brand), piano; Cecil McBee, bass
Excellent
Chet Baker Quintet on all of the following recordings with George Coleman, tenor sax; Kirk Lightsey, piano; Herman Wright, bass:
Lonely Star, Prestige
On a Misty Night, Prestige
Stairway to the Stars, Prestige
Dexter Gordon Quartet: Jumpin’, OJC/Prestige. Wynton Kelly, piano; Sam Jones, bass