This is the second of three sets that document the
Eric Dolphy/
Booker Little quintet's playing at the Five Spot (the third volume is titled
Memorial Album). It features a group made up of pianist
Mal Waldron, bassist
Richard Davis, and drummer
Ed Blackwell really stretching out during long versions of
Little's "Aggression" and the standard "Like Someone in Love."
Dolphy's playing -- whether on alto, bass clarinet, or flute -- always defied categorization, while
Little (who passed away less than three months later) was the first new voice on the trumpet to emerge after
Clifford Brown's death in 1956. An excellent set that records what may have been
Dolphy's finest group ever, as well as one of that era's best working bands. ~ Scott Yanow