Jazz Alive
This 1959 live session is much more than an average blowing session. With Zoot Sims and Al Cohn on tenor saxophones throughout, adding Phil Woods on alto for half the recording, the four tunes are each miniature studies in the way multiple saxes intertwine to form a kind of choral horn effect. The tunes are all standards, with J.J. Johnson's "Wee Dot" the most hard-swinging. The best thing about this recording is its impromptu showing--its revelation of the way these musicians scoped out testing grounds for multiple but similar textures in a live gig. Among the other great things, though, is the piano comping from Mose Allison, who elevates this CD at times to a veritable all-star group before most of the group's members were truly "stars." Rife with rhythmic pulse--provided amply by drummer Paul Motian and bassist Nabil Totah--this is a treasure trove that again points to the value of the current jazz reissue phase, a phase when the catalog is into its second and even third tiers.--Andrew Bartlett