Mainstream jazz may not have been the dominant form of jazz during the '50s but many of its exponents (including those heard on this excellent compilation) were very much in their prime. Three of the numbers here date from a session led by pianist
Mel Powell that features trumpeter
Buck Clayton and clarinetist
Edmond Hall, eight come from a 1957
Buck Clayton septet (with trombonist
Vic Dickenson and altoist
Earle Warren), and three tunes come from a matchup between the trumpets of
Buck Clayton and
Ruby Braff (along with the tenor of
Buddy Tate and trombonist
Benny Morton). The consistently swinging music includes some
Count Basie-associated tunes plus seven
Clayton originals with fine solos from all of the principals. [Later reissues included only 14 of the 16 tracks heard on the original double-LP set.] ~ Scott Yanow