Nicholas Payton shines in two different ways here – blowing trumpet, and handling piano and Fender Rhodes – often overdubbed, but with a unified sound that makes the album sound wonderful throughout! Part of the strength of the set is the rhythm backing – as Payton works with help from bassist Ron Carter, a player he'd always dreamed of recording with – alongside more regular drummer Karrie Riggins, who fits into the trio with a really magical sense of energy. Tenorist George Coleman joins the group on two tracks – partly as a nod to the Miles Davis album Four & More, which was some of the inspiration for the sound of this set – and titles include "Gold Dust Black Magic", "Q For Quincy Jones", "Big George", "Hangin In & Jivin", "Levin's Ope", "No Lonely Nights", "Big George", and "Lullaby For A Lamppost". CD

One of the greatest jazz soundtracks of all time! Elmer Bernstein wrote the score to Otto Preminger's chilling film version of Nelson Algren's book The Man With The Golden Arm – a sad tale of jazz, gambling, and heroin addiction on the streets of Chicago (not far from Dusty Groove, in fact!) – and in doing so, he came up with one of the first jazz soundtracks to really work strongly with a dramatic narrative. The film's striking theme is played in a number of variations, either with orchestral backing, or in small combo format by Shorty Rogers & His Giants, a crack west coast group that features work by Bud Shank, Shelly Manne, Bob Cooper, and Pete Candoli. The tracks work perfectly together as a suite of tracks, even without the images of the film – telling a tale of temptation, sadness, tragedy, and rebirth. Titles include "Clark Street", "Breakup", "The Fix", "Zosh", "Frankie Machine", and "Audition". Worth the price for the Saul Bass cover alone! (Soundtracks, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album