This beautifully-captured 1963 performance showcases some of the contemporary jazz cats whose influence extends further than their fame. Recorded by Jean-Christophe Averty at the ORTF Studio in Paris, Cat Anderson (trumpet), Johnny Griffin (saxophone), Kenny Drew (piano), Gilbert Rovère (double bass) and Larry Ritchie (drums) represented Blue Note, weaving expert 'modern' jazz into compositions that had been around for a long time: ""On Green Dolphin Street" and "St. Louis Blues."
The outfit is led by Anderson, a central member of Duke Ellington's orchestra and noted for his exceptional ability to play in the higher register (a reference Wynton Marsalis mentions often), alongside Johnny Griffin, the sometime saxophonist to Art Blakey and Thelonious Monk, an artist covered by the group through their sublime interpretation of "Rhythm-A-Ning." Kenny Drew and Larry Ritchie were both members of John Coltrane's cohort and the band is rounded off by supreme French double bassist, Gilbert Rovère, whose list of collaborations rivals anyone's. Yet, far more than a group composed of sidemen, these musicians were pillars of jazz in their era and, though they didn't achieve astronomic levels of fame, their music is etched into the genre's DNA.
