Personnel:
Nat Adderley (cnt), King Curtis (ts), Wynton Kelly (p), Paul Chambers, Sam Jones (b), Oliver Jackson, Belton Evans (d)
Reference: FSRCD 714
Bar code: 8427328607148
THIS PRODUCT IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN THE U.S.
Tenorman King Curtis (1934-1971) is best known as a rhythm and blues star. But, as he shows here, fronting two coruscating rhythm sections graced by pianist Wynton Kelly, and sharing the front line with the sparkling trumpet and cornet of Nat Adderley, there was much more to him than that.
Confident, fluent and agile, he builds his solos with care and economy, his big, warm, wraparound tone recalling the blues-drenched power and authority of Gene Ammons. He has an ideal partner in the ebulliently inventive Adderley, while Kelly once dubbed the most swinging pianist ever by no less than drummer Jimmy Cobb, who played with him and the bassist here, Paul Chambers, in Miles Daviss rhythm section lifts these sessions as only he could. Ably abetted by Chambers, one of the best on his instrument in jazz, Kelly, impeccable both as soloist and accompanist, is an indispensable element in the success of these sessions.
