A stunning 70s set from the great
Paul Desmond – one that has the tremendous alto player finding an even fresher groove than before – yet all
without losing any of the class and control that made him so great in the 50s and 60s! Don Sebesky arranged the set, but most of the instrumentation is nice and lean – small group modes that allow
Paul's alto to soar out in the lead, often alongside some excellent guitar work from Gabor Szabo and Gene Bertoncini – the latter of whom provides accompaniment that takes us back to some of
Jim Hall's music
with Desmond. Bob James plays a bit of piano on the record, and rhythm is by Ron Carter on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Ralph MacDonald on percussion – plus a bit of cello from George Ricci, who shades tunes in
with a mighty nice sound. But as you'd guess, the main focus is on
Desmond's sublime alto sax – on titles that include "Was A Sunny Day", "Take Ten", "Music For A While", and of course, "Skylark".
(Yellow label stereo pressing with Van Gelder stamp. Includes the CTI inner sleeve. Cover has some surface and edge wear, worn corners, staple holes at the top right, and a small Motown sticker in back.)