An overlooked moment of genius from Canadian bassist
Neil Swainson – maybe the only album of his we've seen as a leader, and a tremendous showcase for the talents of
Joe Henderson on tenor and
Woody Shaw on trumpet! The album's a beautiful burner – filled
with original songs by
Neil, and handled by the group
with some of the soulful flow you'd find on the best
Woody Shaw albums for Muse Records in the 70s – a mode that's very much out of time, especially as the whole thing was issued on the Concord label, which isn't usually such a strong showcase for material as soulful and expressive as this! The rest of the combo features Jerry Fuller on drums and Gary Williamson on piano – and titles include "Don't Hurt Yourself", "49th Parallel", "Port Of Spain", "On The Lam", "Labyrinth", and "Southern Exposure".
(Spot of sticker residue and some clear tape on the booklet, disc has a promo stamp.)