Illinois Jacquet - Flies Again (1959)

This CD reissue, which has tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet's only session as a leader during 1958-61, is a bit of a disappointment. Jacquet plays well enough and his tone is always endearing but the constant criticism by jazz writers of the 1950s about his honks, squeals and screams led to him leaving some of the extremities (and excitement) out of his solos. Although there are some good buildups here and there, none of the performances explode or stand out. Best is the medium-tempo blues "Teddy Bear" which was possibly conceived as a tribute to the recently deceased Lester Young while "Bottoms Up" is essentially a routine runthrough on "Flying Home" and "The King" uses the framework of "Jumpin' at the Woodside." All of the other selections are taken at ballad or dance tempos and Jacquet's sidemen are limited strictly to background work. A tame and sometimes simply dull set.