Here's a jazz album I've been meaning to share in a good while. Aside from Charles Mingus and Jaco Pastorious I don't think there ever was a very visible bass player in the world of jazz. Sure - Ron Carter was an omnipresent figure throughout most of jazz history but the spotlight rarely shined on him. For this (real or not) reason I always had this fascination with bassist led albums and groups. They hit different.
Sam Jones recorded a lot as a sideman most notably for Cannonball Adderley but he had a slew of his own albums as well with this one being his debut album according to Wikipedia at least. Interestingly the line up is bigger than what is on the cover but I guess Riverside decided these dudes will draw the most eyes in the record store. As is maybe evident from the cover Jones switches from double bass to cello per track keeping things fresh.
The album is a hard-bop treat that isn't treading any new ground but it does not need to nor it proclaims to be. There are two standards here and the rest are compositions from various members of the group offering mostly mid tempo grooves and solos. Jones tends to be a bit too high in the mix which might put some people off but I had not so much problem with it. Aside from that I can't really think of anything to complain about this record. It's just good and varied fun session.
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