Although trumpeter
Buck Clayton gets top billing, this CD reissue actually features
Tommy Gwaltney's Kansas City Nine, an unusual group sporting arrangements by
Gwaltney and tenor-saxophonist
Tommy Newsom (who decades later became famous for his work on The Tonight Show). The group has an unusual combination of major names (
Clayton, trombonist
Dickie Wells, guitarist
Charlie Byrd, pianist
John Bunch, bassist
Whitey Mitchell and drummer
Buddy Schutz) along with
Gwaltney (who doubles on reeds and vibes),
Newsom and
Bobby Zottola (playing second trumpet and peck horn). Although the nonet performs a variety of songs associated with Kansas City Jazz of the swing era, the arrangements are modern and unpredictable. ~ Scott Yanow