LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

It is one of the jazz world's frustrations that bassist Sam Jones is more valued over a decade after his passing than in his lifetime; and one of its saving graces that labels like Riverside were recording such underrated musicians at their peak. This 1961 session was Jones's second, and clearly much more than an informal blowing date. With a big band constructed around the Cannonball Adderley quintet of the time plus such stellar additions as Blue Mitchell, Jimmy Heath, and Wynton Kelly; and with Heath and Victor Feldman providing arrangements of bluesy original tunes and jazz and pop standards, Jones found an exceptional setting for his bass and cello mastery.
Track listing:The Chant, Four, Blues on Down, Sonny Boy, In Walked Ray, Bluebird, Over the Rainbow, Off-Color