sports a jacket, tie, and spectacles on the cover of , looking more like a professor than a saxophonist. While he is most certainly the latter, his debonair appearance does mirror the smooth, elegant style of his horn. captures the tenor/alto player in 1945 in a number of settings that mostly emphasize his work. The other central figure of this disc is drummer/vocalist , who joins on 13 of the 23 tracks. 's powerful vocals on pieces like and provide an agreeable contrast to 's silky saxophone. There's a bouncy take on with singer and a bizarre, risque piece titled . Although the singers and personnel vary quite a bit, the material gels together into a pretty uniform set. There are also three instrumentals -- one kicking off the album, the other two ending it -- that allow a little more room to strut his stuff. In another year, the saxophonist would strike gold with and forever be associated with as opposed to . offers a fine assortment of the saxophonist's early work. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.