Maynard Ferguson's blowing full steam ahead here - working with an octet that's heavy on horn parts, but in a richly creative way! Ferguson nicely shows off some of his best influences from the 50s large group scene in LA - and gets some key help on the record from Bill Holman, who wrote almost all the tracks on the date, and no doubt arranged most of the material too. Holman's horn isn't heard on the set, but other players are equally great - and include Bob Gordon on baritone, Georgie Auld on tenor, Herb Geller on alto, Milt Bernhart on trombone, and Conte Candoli on trumpet - supported by a rhythm section that features Ian Bernhard on piano, Red Callender on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums. As usual for the Emarcy years, Maynard plays a host of instruments - trumpet, bass trumpet, and valve trombone.

This set features two sizzling horns mingling in a decidedly frenetic dance contest. These songs hop and bounce with enduring vitality. A definite coolness exists within the searing solos of the two trumpet kings as they empty their lungs, executing mind-spinning, scale-like passages and high notes, and there's a palpable sense of competition as they take turns performing their acrobatic brass-work. They can both propel notes from their horns like nobody's business, yet their tonal and stylistic differences create two distinct elements within the music. Bassist Ray Brown's tempos provide a cool structure for the flurries of notes the trumpets cast forth. Some of the most poetic moments from these 1954 recordings are when their collaboration intertwines them within the passages, but their supercharged blowing naturally finds a subtler ground and tact when they come together in a musical braid work that's no less affecting than their solos.

In the 1950s, tenor-saxophonist Ben Webster was at the peak of his powers. His musical personality really featured two separate emotions: harsh and tough on the faster pieces and surprisingly warm and tender on the ballads. Webster uses the latter voice throughout this two-LP set. On all but four of 20 selections, Ben is backed by a string section arranged by Ralph Burns (except for "Chelsea Bridge" which was arranged by Billy Strayhorn) and, although clarinetists Tony Scott and Jimmy Hamilton and pianists Teddy Wilson and Hank Jones are heard from, the focus is otherwise entirely on the great tenor. The final four numbers, which matches Webster with Wilson in a stringless quartet, also stick to ballads. Music that is both beautiful and creative.

This CD reissue (put out in 1990) may be hard to find, now that Savoy has been sold to the Japanese Denon label. Originally issued under flugelhornist Wilbur Harden's name, the 1958 quartet (which also includes pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist George Duvivier and drummer Granville T. Hogan) performs nine Rodgers & Hammerstein songs mostly taken from The King and I, plus a reprise and an alternate take of "Hello Young Lovers." The interpretations are tasteful yet swinging, and include such familiar tunes as "Getting to Know You" and "We Kiss In a Shadow," along with some obscurities. Enjoyable music.

Hadley Caliman recorded a few albums in the 1970s, then didn't record as a leader for several decades until after retiring from his teaching job, then came a series of CDs issued by Origin, of which this is the third. This reunion with fellow tenor saxophonist Pete Christlieb marks their first opportunity to play together since the mid-'60s, aside from one brief meeting in the 40-plus-year stretch leading up to this record date. Many two-tenor sax sessions end up being battles, but the two veterans are old friends who aren't trying to top one another and instead focus on inspiring each other's playing. The potent rhythm section includes pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Chuck Deardorf, and drummer John Bishop, all seasoned players who provide excellent support throughout the date. There's plenty of fire in the rousing workout of "Love for Sale." The very deliberate setting of "I Thought About You" features some of Caliman's most powerful solo work, while the two tenor men have a ball in the loping treatment of Freddie Hubbard's timeless jazz waltz "Up Jumped Spring." The bulk of the CD features strong original compositions. Caliman contributed the vibrant "Comencia," blending a slight Afro-Cuban flavor in a brisk bop vehicle, as well as the hypnotic "Gala," which proves to be the most dramatic performance of the session.

Recorded in June 1960, Swingin' on the Town was a bit of a retro affair at the time, since swing was no longer popular dance music, nor the cutting edge of jazz. Still, Eldridge was one of the best swing trumpeters of any era, and his music continued to deepen over the years; there was no reason for him not to play swing standards if he could still make them sound fresh. Throughout Swingin' on the Town, he does make it sound fresh. It helps that he's supported by bassist Benny Moten, pianist Ronnie Ball and drummer Eddie Locke, who keep things lively, but Eldridge is the focus here, and his performances are supple, swinging and charming. He doesn't do anything out of the ordinary, but he delivers the expected with grace. Not a major album in his catalog, but certainly an enjoyable one.

A prolific, award-winning Italian trumpet and flügelhorn player known for his warm tone and lyrical style. His style is based on the classic Miles Davis sound of the '50s, and the very lineup of his quintet is reminiscent of Davis' group, with excellent tenor Tino Tracanna. They mostly play originals and the music flows fresh and engaging, never a mere imitation.

Veteran tenor Flip Phillips is heard leading a jam session during what was dubbed the 1986 Floating Jazz Festival since the music took place on the S.S. Norway somewhere in the Caribbean Sea. Phillips and his fellow tenors Buddy Tate, Al Cohn and Scott Hamilton (along with pianst John Bunch, guitarist Chris Flory, bassist Major Holley and drummer Chuck Riggs) clearly had a good time stretching out on the five pieces (which all sport fairly basic chord changes); fluegelhornist Clark Terry dropped by and joins in on three of the pieces. Unfortunately the liner notes do not tell who solos when but veteran collectors should be able to tell the tenors apart. The only minus to this CD is a surprisingly boring monologue by Phillips (one of Chiaroscuro's few unsuccessful "Jazzspeaks") at the conclusion of this disc. However his nine minutes of talking is preceded by 64 minutes of hot jamming, making this CD easily recommended to fans of Jazz at the Philharmonic and straightahead jazz.

Other than two numbers cut for the Progressive label in Houston a couple years earlier (and thus far never reissued), this Atlantic session (put out as a Koch CD in 1999) was the recording debut for the remarkable Phineas Newborn. The 24-year-old pianist's playing on this trio/quartet date with bassist Oscar Pettiford and drummer Kenny Clarke (and occasionally guitarist Calvin Newborn) is virtuosic to say the least, on Oscar Peterson's level if not Art Tatum's. Newborn rips through the repertoire (which is highlighted by "Barbados," "Celia," "Daahoud," and "Afternoon in Paris"); try to tap your foot to "Celia" without breaking your ankle!

This live Boston summit meeting between Ray Brown, Christian McBride and John Clayton was the logical outcome of several joint appearances, as well as an extension of a one-off bass troika track that McBride included on his first solo album. The idea of a bass trio on records probably would have been unthinkable in the primitive days of recording when Brown was coming up, but Telarc's fabulously deep yet clear engineering makes it seem like a natural thing to do. Whether pizzicato or bowed, whether taking the melodic solo or plunking down the 4/4 bottom line, all three perform with amazing panache, taste, humor, lack of ego, and the sheer joy of talking to and against each other beneath the musical staff.

Whether as a trumpeter or singer, Chet Baker was always the subject of controversy among jazz listeners, a victim of fashion who was doomed in his lifetime to be either over- or underrated. These Pacific Jazz recordings from the mid-1950s present Baker the instrumentalist at the height of his popularity. While his coolly passive treatments of ballads like "Imagination" and "Stella by Starlight" may play to the languid stereotype of West Coast jazz, there's boppish fire and invention on the medium- and up-tempo tunes, with Baker emphasizing the middle register that was his forte. Altoist Art Pepper and valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer turn up among the supporting cast, and there's a good choice of material by boppish heads from both coasts, including Carson Smith's "Carson City Stage," Jimmy Heath's "C.T.A.," and Al Haig's "Jumping Off a Clef".

Jimmy Smith brought the Hammond organ into hard bop and jazz in the 1950s, and his piano-fast solo runs on the instrument have never been equaled. This warm set from Blue Note Records, the label where Smith built most of his impressive legacy, selects eight of his performances for the label, including a 20-minute (and ten second) version of "The Sermon," the bouncing "Back at the Chicken Shack," and a fun romp through "See See Rider," among other delights, making this a quick introduction to the peak creative era of this one-of-a-kind jazz artist's long career.