The post-
Clifford Brown quintet that drummer
Max Roach led tends to get overlooked, but it actually ranked up there with the Jazz Messengers and
the Horace Silver Quintet in the late '50s. With tenor saxophonist
Sonny Rollins becoming a stronger soloist month by month (he was arguably the top tenor in jazz at the time) and veteran trumpeter
Kenny Dorham in prime form,
Roach was able to stretch himself; the obscure pianist Billy Wallace and bassist
George Morrow completed the group. On this LP,
Roach explores six songs in waltz time, an innovation for the period (predating
Dave Brubeck's recording of "Take Five" by two years).
Roach contributed two originals and the group played 3/4 versions of three standards, but it was
Rollins' "Valse Hot" (which clocks in on this Mercury album at over 14 minutes in length) that was the hit of the date. These excellent performances show that jazz does not always have to be in 4/4 time in order to swing. ~ Scott Yanow