A split 70s LP – with two earlier classics! First up is How I Feel About Jazz – an important early album from Quincy Jones! Q's working here in some of his hippest settings of the 50s – scoring longish versions of jazz tunes for groups that include players like Lucky Thompson on tenor, Herbie Mann on flute, Art Farmer on trumpet, Phil Woods and Gene Quill on alto sax, Hank Jones on piano, and even Charles
Mingus on bass! As with most Jones albums of the time, Quincy has a way of making a bigger group sound nice and lean – hitting some especially nice edges along with the rhythms, and really showing the way towards a new soulful sound for a bigger
band. Titles include a sublime 10 minute version of "Walkin" that kicks off the album with a great soulful groove – plus original tunes "Evening In Paris", "Stockholm Sweetnin", and "Boo's Blues", as well as a version of Cannonball Adderley's "Sermonette". Next is Quintessence – a very soulful set of
big band material from Quincy Jones – recorded during that tight early 60s period when his arrangements just couldn't fail! The album's his only session for Impulse, and it's got a slightly deeper style than his work from the time for Mercury – a bit more sophisticated, with nice modern touches that take the tunes in surprising directions. Part of the greatness of the set lies in the players – as the album features work by Curtis Fuller, Thad Jones, Stu Martin, Freddie Hubbard, Patty Brown, Phil Woods, and Jerome Richardson – and titles include "Robot Portrait", "Hard Sock Dance", "The Twitch", and "For Lena & Lennie".