Pianist
Paul Bley's debut as a leader features the 21-year old in a trio with bassist
Charles Mingus and drummer
Art Blakey for
Mingus' Debut label. The CD reissue, which adds four performances to the original program, finds
Bley developing his voice within the bebop tradition. Mixing together stimulating originals such as "Opus 1" and "Spontaneous Combustion" with a few standards,
Horace Silver's "Split Kick" and a surprisingly effective version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,"
Paul Bley may not have been distinctive this early on but he clearly had a potentially strong future.