Homecoming! is a particularly high-spirited record for this stage in
Hope's troubled career. Following an extended stay in Los Angeles, a number of the day's top players helped welcome a refreshed
Hope back to New York on this session. Tenor saxophonists
Frank Foster and
Jimmy Heath, as well as trumpeter
Blue Mitchell, form the front line on the sextet numbers, while on all tracks
Hope is joined by the rhythm section of
Percy Heath and
Philly Joe Jones. Four of the album's (original) seven tracks are sextet performances and the two alternate takes only appear on the Fantasy Original Jazz Classics CD reissue. The
Dameron-esque bop numbers sizzle and weave and the tenor work of
Frank Foster is especially rewarding on the album's bouncing opener, "Moe, Jr.," take four on the CD. The three ballads are equally fresh and less doom-ridden than comparable performances found elsewhere in his catalog. Expect fine performances by all. This great hard bop record is highly recommended.