In 1965 and 1966 tenor giant issued three albums for the label. They would be his last until 1972 when he re-emerged on the scene from a self-imposed retirement. This date is significant for the manner in which attacks five with a quartet that included pianist , bassist and drummer . , who's been recording for and its subsidiary, had spent the previous three years (after emerging from his first retirement) concentrating on and focusing deeply on intimate, intricate aspects of melody and harmony. He inverts the approach here, and digs deeply into pulse and rhythm and leaving melody to take care of itself. This is not a "new thing" date but instead focuses on playing according to the dictates of the rhythm section and on interchanging with and , leaving much of the melodic aspect of these tunes to could never quite leave the melody out of anything he played because of his intense gift as a lyrical improviser; he nonetheless stripped his approach back and played tunes like by improvising according to theme rather than strict melody, where his interplay with the rhythm section becomes based on the dynamic and shifting times played by . While things are more intimate and straight on he nonetheless plays the edges, filling the space like a drummer. Melody happens throughout, the tune is recognizable, but it is stretched in his solo to a theme set by the shimmering cymbals and brushed snare work of . The oddest cuts in the set are the last two; spaced out readings of ; they sound as if he were preparing the listener for a true change in his approach. Melody gets inverted, with spaces and syncopation taking the place of notes. The swing is inherent in everything here, but it's clear that the saxophonist was hearing something else in his head, the way he squeezes notes tightly into some phrases where they might be placed elsewhere, and substitutes small, lithe lines inside 's solos which dictate the harmonic intervals more conventionally with his singing approach. And speaking of rhythm, the album's hinge piece is the burning Here again, as 's changes play it straight, shoves his horn inside them and draws out the beat on his horn over and over again. As strange and beautiful as this record sounds, it would have been wonderful if he had chosen to explore this track on his later records, but that restless spirit was already moving onto something else, as evidenced by his next offering, which were his original compositions for the film with arrangements by . If anything, feels as if it were a recording had to get out of his system. But thank goodness for us because it's a winner through and through. ~ Thom Jurek