Classic bebop with an excellent sound mix and Hampton's playing is just unreal. All the playing is strong and constistent throughout. Great example of a group playing together as a team with everything in its place. Make sure to also check out For Real! with Scott LaFaro playing straight-ahead with Hampton Hawes. This one, every bit as enjoyable.
Some good music never goes out of style: Jazz fans everywhere revere the cooking hard bop of the 1950s. So why is the other big '50s trend, cool jazz, barely on modern radar? If you want to know how fresh and airy it still sounds, hear trumpeter/composer/arranger/cool exemplar Shorty Rogers on "Popo," "Didi," "Four Mothers" and "Sam and the Lady" from his first 1951 octet session: tightly arranged, swinging jazz with breezy orchestral colors, and… more »
