This is a must have for those who love hard bop
p dizzle | 11/08/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Reece does an excellent job on this album in showcasing himself as a top notch trumpet player. Along with Stanley Turrentine and Art Blakey, he plays beautifully. Too bad Reece does not have more of his work available in the United States."
A solid blue note record
p dizzle | augusta, georgia, USA | 11/27/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"dizzy reece is a neglected talent on trumpet who surfaced, briefly, in the 1960s thanks to blue note records. this album is a compendium of two sessions recorded in 1960 following mr. reece's debut on blue note "blues in trinity"--sadly out of print. the first five tracks are wonderful blue note fare, featuring art blakey and the jazz messengers of that era, showcasing great hardbop. the three reece originals, 'ye olde blues,' 'the case of the frightened lover,' and 'achmet,' all swing with a deep blues grrove. the highlight is 'achmet' with its opening showcase for mr. blakey. the standard 'tenderly' shows mr. reece's mastery of the ballad, creating an after-midnight, candlelit atmosphere. the only gripe with the opening tracks is there isn't much to separate this from an art blakey set, and a buyer on a budget might want to go with the super sets from mr. blakey of that era--e.g., "moanin'". the last four tracks feature a band brought together by mr. reece, and the sound is straight ahead hardbop. perhaps a reason why blue note kept this album in the vault until 1999 was that it had too many other sets by more well-known trumpets covering the same ground. this is too bad because while mr. reece does sound a lot like lee morgan, donald byrd, or freddie hubbard, there are hints that he was following his own path. it'd be nice to have seen where it led. one footnote--this album was the recording debut of stanley turrentine."