Description
Release Date: 1995
Label: Evidence Music
Track List
1. Announcement 0:49
2. Nothin’ But The Blues 8:10
3. The Call 8:29
4. After 8:13
5. Some Monk Funk 10:42
6. I Can’t Get Started 8:33
7. Jitterbug 5:59
8. The Very Thought Of You 5:41
9. A Night In Tunisia 14:46
Personnel
Bass – Bill Huntington
Drums – Art Blakey (tracks: 7), David Lee Jr. (tracks: 2 to 6, 8, 9)
Piano – Ellis Marsalis
Tenor Saxophone – Donald Harrison (tracks: 6, 7, 9), Rick Margitza (tracks: 2 to 5, 9)
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Tony Dagradi (tracks: 2 to 5, 9)
Trumpet – Nicholas Payton (tracks: 7)
Review
Most of this 1995 CD reissue of music originally put out by the Japanese Somethin’ Else label features pianist Ellis Marsalis heading a quintet also including both Tony Dagradi and Rick Margitza on tenors, bassist Bill Huntington and drummer David Lee Jr. The group performs four originals (including “Nothin’ But the Blues” and “Some Monk Funk”) and the standard “The Very Thought of You.” Dagradi and Margitza make for a complementary and at times competitive team. Two others songs (“I Can’t Get Started” and a lengthy “Night In Tunisia”) find Donald Harrison (on tenor) making the band a sextet (all three tenors solo on the latter tune). A special highlight is “Jitterbug,” which has Art Blakey sitting in on drums and 15-year old (!) trumpeter Nicholas Payton sounding fine on his recording debut. A strong set of hard bop-oriented music. Scott Yanow
