During 1956-57 trumpeter
Donald Byrd and altoist
Phil Woods (both important up-and-coming players) were regular members of pianist
George Wallington's quintet. For this CD reissue, bassist
Teddy Kotick and drummer
Art Taylor complete the group on a program that includes three standards ("Our Delight," "Our Love Is Here to Stay" and "What's New"), a pair of
Woods originals ("Together We Wail" and "But George") and
Frank Foster's "Foster Dulles." The music falls between bebop and hard bop with
Woods sounding quite strong while
Byrd comes across as a promising (but not yet mature) youngster. A fine example of this somewhat forgotten but talented group, easily recommended to bop collectors.