A great return to form for drummer Donald Bailey – a player who's probably best known for his work in the classic Jimmy Smith Trio of the late 50s/
early 60s – but who sounds especially amazing here in a recent, righteous recording! Bailey's working with some very tight talent – the mighty
Odeon Pope on tenor sax, Charles Tolliver on trumpet, George Burton on piano, and Tyrone Brown on bass – all players with a lot of depth in their music, and a brooding intensity that makes the record burn a lot more fiercely than anything Bailey ever recorded back in the day. The horns are especially nice – and although Tolliver's only on two of the album's nine tracks, Pope more than holds his own on the others – blowing that heady tenor sound that always grabs attention right from the get-go. Titles include "Blues It", "Gone Now", "For All We Know", "USQ/
Trilogy", "Blue Gardenia", "Plant Life", and "Variations".
(Out of print, digipak case has some edgewear and a penmark through the barcode.)