Excellent Later Cobb
John Chapin | Jackson Heights, NY USA | 03/30/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Arnett Cobb, tnr; Ray Bryant, pno; Wendell Marshall, bass; Arthur Taylor, drms; Ray Barretto, cnga.
After Cobb got sick in 47, he was seriously hurt in an car crash in 1957. This "Party Time" lp is perhaps less raucous than his pre-recovery stuff, but the lower volume here brings out his subtle tone. And Cobb's tone is just amazing. I've read appraisals of "Party Time" which describe his playing as suffering from his accident, but I don't hear it; his sound is applied to his brilliantly building solos, and the whole is great stuff.
This record was engineered by Van Gelder, so all the technical details are right. This Cobb material compares well to Jimmy Forrest and even the younger Gene Ammons."