March 7, 2019
The main reason to purchase this previously unissued set from the declining years of Blue Note is not for the trivial rhythmic themes (which use fairly basic chord sequences) or even the solos of organist John Patton (who never does escape entirely from the shadow of Jimmy Smith) but for the somewhat out-of-place avant-garde outbursts by Harold Alexander (on tenor and flute) who often takes improvisations that go completely outside; his squeals on “Boogaloo Boogie” are a real surprise and he may very well be the reason that this music was not put out at the time. Otherwise this is a routine and now-dated set of commercial late-’60s jazz/funk. ~ Scott Yanow
