Search - Leo Parker :: Rollin With Leo

Leo's last recording - and it's a good one

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 07/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On this, Leo Parker's last recorded album (he died of a heart attack four months later), the blues, which were sorely missing (with one exception) from his previous Blue Note release, get much greater attention, and that's a plus. Half the tunes are blues, from the up-tempo THE LION'S ROAR (a tune Leo first recorded in 1947) to the downhome TALKIN' THE BLUES, which is slow and deep and has an excellent rolling Johnny Acea piano solo; all are excellent recordings. The simple a-a-a blues ROLLIN' WITH LEO features an excellent solo by the baritone sax master. Leo is especially good on slow or medium tunes; MAD LAD RETURNS is taken way too fast and Parker falters a bit (the original recording from 1950 suffered in the same way, though not as badly). Dave Burns is listed as trumpeter, but he's hardly heard from. Purnell Rice's drumming is crisp and clear; his work on the slow BAD GIRL is especially good. Coleman Hawkins's STUFFY gets a nice reading, and MUSIC HALL BEAT is an interesting original. The Blue Note sound is very much in evidence here, which just adds to the album's pleasure. I really enjoyed this one."