Trumpeter
Howard McGhee
, after spending much of the 1950s only partly active in music (due to drug problems), made a full-fledged comeback in the early '60s only to find his
bop
-oriented music out of fashion. This
Contemporary
set (reissued on CD in the
OJC
series) was
McGhee
's finest recording of the period, a quartet outing with brilliant pianist
Phineas Newborn
, bassist
Leroy Vinnegar
, and drummer
Shelly Manne
. Although tenor saxophonist
Teddy Edwards
is not on the date, two of his compositions (his famous
"Sunset Eyes"
and a tribute to the trumpeter,
"Maggie's Back in Town"
) are fully explored by the quartet. Other titles include three
standards
plus
's original
blues
"Demon Chase."
This CD is a perfect starting point for listeners not familiar with the underrated (and often overlooked)
. ~ Scott Yanow