Made available again on the Riverside limited-edition series,
New Jazz Frontiers From Washington is a rare and highly enjoyable set from the short-lived
JFK Quintet. With the exception of "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" and "Dancing in the Dark" all the compositions are up-tempo originals. Alto saxophonist
Andrew White propels this hard bop date by occasionally utilizing
Eric Dolphy-influenced atonality while trumpeter
Ray Codrington plays the perfect foil, keeping the music swinging and straight-ahead. It's this interplay that makes this disc consistently funky and exploratory. Not to be excluded from praise was the top-notch rhythm section featuring underrated pianist
Harry Killgo, drummer Mickey Newman, and bassist Walter Booker Jr., along with the added presence of
Cannonball Adderley as producer and mentor. Its unfortunate this quintet, named as a tribute to then president JFK's ideology of change and new ideas, only lasted for the 1962 follow-up recording
Young Ideas.