This set combines two of vibraphonist
Milt Jackson's early-'60s LPs for Impulse! Records, 1962’s
Statements, which finds
Jackson in fine form playing with pianist
Hank Jones, bassist
Paul Chambers, and drummer
Connie Kay, and 1964’s odd
Jazz ‘n’ Samba, which features
Jackson on one side playing with pianist
Tommy Flanagan, tenor saxophonist
Jimmy Heath, bassist
Richard Davis, and
Kay again on drums, while the second side finds
Jackson minus pianist
Flanagan but adds two guitarists,
Barry Galbraith and
Howard Collins, and vocalists Lilian Clark and Joe E. Ross. The combination of the two LPs here isn’t exactly seamless, but
Jackson is in fine form throughout, which hardly comes as a surprise. ~ Steve Leggett