Elvin Jones - Elvin! (1962)

Tracklist

01 - Lady Luck
02 - Buzz-At
03 - Shadowland
04 - Pretty Brown
05 - Ray-El
06 - Four and Six
07 - You Are Too Beautiful

personnel :

Elvin Jones - drums
Frank Wess - flute
Frank Foster - saxophone, tenor saxophone
Thad Jones - cornet
Hank Jones - piano
Art Davis - bass

Drummer Elvin Jones' first full-length album as a leader (reissued on CD in the OJC series) is different than one would expect when it is taken into consideration that he was a member of the fiery John Coltrane Quartet at the time. This sextet session, which also includes his brothers Thad and Hank on cornet and piano in addition to flutist Frank Wess, Frank Foster on tenor, and bassist Art Davis, is straight-ahead with a strong Count Basie feel. Jones is still recognizable on the fairly obscure material (only "You Are Too Beautiful" qualifies as a standard) and shows that he can cook in the fairly conventional setting. All of the musicians are in fine form, and two selections feature the rhythm section as a trio.~ Scott Yanow