2014 reissue, originally released in 1957. A busy bassist on the Los Angeles jazz scene, Curtis Counce performed with many of the greats: Stan Kenton, Gerald Wilson, Jack Sheldon, Harold Land, Al Perkins, and Frank Butler, and could be heard on recordings with Maynard Ferguson, Art Pepper, and Chet Baker, displaying his fine technique and admirable sense of time. On one of his few albums as a leader, Counce is presented in the kind of buoyant company that was not often associated with the phrase "West Coast Jazz.". Counce didn't cut many albums as a leader, but all of them are pretty darn great - and done with a bit more edge than the cool jazz of the LA scene - a bit more open, with a strong focus on the solos on some of the album's longer tracks too! Solos include great work on tenor by Harold Land - who's really coming into his own here - plus Jack Sheldon on piano, and the tremendous Curtis Counce on piano - a player who would pass away not long after this set. Frank Butler completes the group on drums.
