This CD reissue brings back a trio date originally cut for the obscure Challenge label and featuring pianist
Gerald Wiggins, bassist
Eugene Wright (shortly before he joined
Dave Brubeck's Quartet) and drummer
Bill Douglass. Together they perform six selections from the show
The King and I. Best-known of the
Richard Rodgers melodies are "Getting to Know You," "We Kiss In a Shadow" and "Hello, Young Lovers," although the other five songs are superior too.
Wiggins, showing hints of his roots in
Erroll Garner and
Art Tatum, performs an enjoyable if often easy-listening set of melodic improvisations that are pleasing, even if they contain few surprises.