Tony Scott Septet - Fingerpoppin' - Complete Sessions 1954-1955 (2011)

During the early Fifties a good deal was written about the new sounds of modern jazz. The seven piece band assembled for these recordings two saxes, trumpet, trombone, bass and drums contributed a solid, haunting backdrop which bids fair to keep the aural arguments permanently in the forefront of the cool music league. The absence of guitar and piano helped configure the very special sound we hear a solid groundwork over which Tony blows at his impressive best. There are no other soloists, for Tony is and rightly so the whole show; it is not often that jazz can offer such a brilliant, lucid and logical individual exposé. He is, by any standards, a great clarinetist and, on the strength of these performances alone, very possibly one of the most brilliant spokesmen regardless of instrument.