Alto saxophonist/arranger
Gigi Gryce
and trumpeter
Donald Byrd
's innovative, but unfortunately short-lived
Jazz Lab Quintet
recorded several sides during 1957, seven of which were released on this excellent
Columbia
album (a handful of other titles were collectively made for
Riverside
,
Verve
, and
RCA
). The nucleus band of
Gryce
Byrd
, pianist
Tommy Flanagan
(a spot also filled by
Wade Legge
and
Hank Jones
), bassist
Wendell Marshall
, and drummer
Art Taylor
are augmented on four cuts here by trombonists
Benny Powell
Jimmy Cleveland
, French horn player
Julius Watkins
, baritone saxophonist
Sahib Shihab
, and tuba player
Don Butterfield
. The expanded ensemble turn in fleetly swinging renditions of
Horace Silver
's
"Speculation"
"Nica's Tempo,"
while varying the mood a bit with a ballad reading of
Benny Golson
"I Remember Clifford"
and a Far East-tinged waltz take on
Randy Weston
"Little Niles"
(shades of
Miles Davis
'
Birth of the Cool
group are heard in the complex, yet featherweight arrangements by
). The quintet tracks include
"Sans Souci"
and a provocative version of
"Over the Rainbow."
With some of the best arrangements heard in jazz and excellent solos by
Flanagan
Jazz Lab
makes for an excellent introduction to the hard bop catalog. ~ Stephen Cook