The remarkable
Benny Carter, who had first recorded 25 years earlier, was not even halfway through with his career when he started making sessions for Verve. This double CD wraps up the complete reissuance of all of his Verve albums. The distinctive and lyrical altoist is backed by strings throughout the first disc (16 songs plus ten alternate takes), but there is nothing sleepy about the music. The string arrangements (half by Joe Glover and half by
Carter himself) are tasteful and provide a cushion for
Carter's melodic but unpredictable horn; this is far from mere mood music. Most of the second disc matches the ageless altoist with trumpeter
Roy Eldridge and a rhythm section. Some heat is generated, and most unusual are four unique numbers on which
Eldridge duets with drummer
Alvin Stoller (one has
Roy overdubbing some basic piano), although
Roy mostly follows the chord changes. In addition, there is a leftover alternate take from a
Carter session with the
Oscar Peterson quartet and two exciting selections in a sextet with trumpeter
Dizzy Gillespie and trombonist
Bill Harris. Easily recommended, this is a perfectly conceived series. ~ Scott Yanow