Herb Ellis
's first record for the
Dot
label was also his last, and his last solo project (apart from a
Columbia
release around the same time) for the next eight years, during which time he mostly played sessions on other people's albums. With tenor saxman
Teddy Edwards
, organist
Ron Feuer
, bassist
Monty Budwig
, and drummer
Stan Levey
, he has put together a tight pop-jazz ensemble, in which
Ellis
' guitar is surprisingly understated in its prominence. This may actually disappoint some fans, though the playing by
Edwards
and
Feuer
is certainly pleasing enough, even if
does most of the really interesting improvising, most notably on
Ray Brown
's
"AM Blues."
"Tennessee Waltz"
is also well worth hearing, for
' and
' playing. And the group has fun with
"Besame Mucho"
as well. The CD version of this album is available exclusively as a Japanese import (
Universal Victor
), with extremely delicate sound in a superb analog-to-digital transfer. ~ Bruce Eder