Really really wonderful work from legendary organist
Larry Young – a set of rare recordings that we'd easily rank right next to our favorite Blue Note albums that Young cut as a leader! The sides here were done for French radio in the mid 60s, but they're hardly throwaway quickie tracks or lame live sides – and instead are superbly recorded selections that feature Young's organ in the company of really great musicians who include Woody Shaw on trumpet and Nathan
Davis on tenor! The music is mostly from the ORTF studios, with impeccable sound – and tracks stretch out in that long, imaginative way that Young brought to his famous Unity album for Blue Note – a complete reworking of the role of Hammond in jazz, set to new modern modes, which are definitely emphasized by the work of
Davis and Shaw. A number of tracks were recorded under the name of the Nathan
Davis Quartet – with the addition of Billy Brooks on drums and a few more add in Sonny grey on trumpet and Jean-Claude Fohrenbach on tenor – both great players who join Shaw and
Davis on some very extended tracks. The whole thing's wonderful – impeccable sound, great notes, and lost material that's a key addition to the too-small
Larry Young catalog! Titles include "La Valse Grise", "Discotheque", "Trane Of Thought", "Luny Tune", "
Larry's Blues", "Talkin About JC", "Black Nile", and "Beyond All Limits" – as well as a 20 minute reading of the classic "Zoltan". There's also even one track that has
Larry playing some Monk-like piano – really great!