Excepting ringmaster Miles Davis, this collection featured the artists who accompanied Davis on the groundbreaking Kind of Blue album, evoking the same kind of spirit, verve, and mellow approach that signified the trumpeter’s magnum opus. Three selections by Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans are the centerpiece, but John Coltrane’s “Theme for Ernie” and especially Trane with Tadd Dameron for the quintessential “On a Misty Night” set this tone definitively. The remainder of the material is pleasant enough, though Adderley’s “Winetone” is a bit obscure. Not from the Fantasy/Prestige labels, the missing identifier, the classic Blue Note label take of “Autumn Leaves,” stands out like a sore thumb in its absence. It is good to remember and honor this era of modern jazz, but overemphasizing it seems to be the norm rather than the exception from here on. – Michael G. Nastos
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