Moody's Mood For Love

Though Moody is strangely forgotten today, this beaming bebop is what hipsters grooved to in the '50s. The saxophonist and flautist first cut his improvisation on "I'm in the Mood for Love" in 1949, and it became a hit in 1952 with King Pleasure providing the vocalese after Eddie Jefferson had written lyrics. But this 1956 version, with Moody and Jefferson, is the one everyone remembers even though it wasn't the hit. And the rest of this bluesy, passionate album likewise exudes all the playfulness — and serious musicianship — of Moody's mentor Dizzy Gillespie.