The Hal Galper Quintet Live - Redux '78 (1991)

Pianist Hal Galper, who spent the 1980s with Phil Woods' Quintet, led a short-lived quintet of his own in the late '70s that gave the Brecker Brothers a chance to get away from the studios and really stretch out. This live session (which was released for the first time on Galper's 1991 CD) has plenty of hard-blowing with tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker showing his mastery of John Coltrane on the ballad "I'll Never Stop Loving You" while brother Randy plays expert bop during the hotter jams and the intense ballad "Shadow Waltz." The pianist-leader (who is accompanied by bassist Wayne Dockery and drummer Bob Moses) does not get overshadowed and is in fine form throughout, particularly during his feature "My Man's Gone Now." Although there are only two standards on the set, the feeling is of a jam session with Galper leading the strong rhythm section through a variety of attractive chord changes. Recommended. -- Scott Yanow