Pushing to the side the double sax that became his trademark,
George Braith turned in his strongest record with
Extension. Largely freed from the restraints of the dueling horns,
Braith is able to explore the outer reaches of his music. He still remains grounded in soul-jazz -- any guitar-organ combo is bound to have soul-jazz roots -- but he pushes the music toward adventurous hard bop, often with rewarding results. His compositions are fully realized, with interesting melodic statements and plenty of opportunities for him and mainstays
Grant Green on guitar and
Billy Gardner on organ to stretch out. And when
Braith does reach back for the double-sax technique, such as on the title track, it works because its otherwordly tone is better suited to this searching, adventurous music, than on the more basic fare that dominated
Two Souls in One. The double horns do make
Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" sound a little awkward, but even that song is redeemed by excellent solos. Nevertheless, it's the originals, and the way the quartet of
Braith,
Green,
Gardner, and drummer
Clarence Johnston executes them, that make
Extension the definitive
Braith album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine