Sammy Price had such a flexible piano style that he could fit into swing, boogie-woogie, blues, R&B, and rock & roll settings without altering his approach. During 1956, 1957, and 1959,
Price led a series of blues-oriented instrumental jams featuring some notable sidemen in his quintet/sextet, including at various times tenor saxophonist
King Curtis, guitarists
Mickey Baker,
Kenny Burrell, and
Al Casey, bassists
Leonard Gaskin,
Jimmy Lewis, and
Al Lucas, drummers
Bobby Donaldson and
Panama Francis, and sometimes baritonist Heywood Henry. The music included on this two-volume set (the complete sessions) is fairly basic and blues-oriented, and often has an early rock & roll beat. The solos of
Price and
Curtis (in a couple of his better instrumental outings) make this perfectly conceived two-fer of strong interest to jazz listeners. ~ Scott Yanow