This is an album that the aficionados of bop will thoroughly enjoy. The ensemble gathered here are first class musicians who ply their trade with both joyful abandon and sensitivity. The session was done in a day giving it the feel of extemporaneous 'swing' as the glorious bands of Bird et al exhibited in the heyday of jazz. There is bop from top to bottom, with each tune carefully chosen. "Groovin' High" is a prime example of jazz as it should be played. Pfeifer's piano opens matters like a cool breeze.

The trumpet is the most difficult instrument to play (physically) requiring top notch chops and Dan Jacobs has been blessed in this regard many times over. This quartet has it all together in this fine album. The arrangements are fabulous and the solos are not only inventive but performed soulfully and pleasing to the ear.

Kayo Hiraki's pianistic ability interprets jazz standards into boppish gems adding a distinctive vocal on some.This is the fifth CD for this artist from Japan. She has appeared at all the major jazz clubs in New York and performed with many of the top stars.

Judy Wexler looms large in the relatively small world of jazz vocalists, and this recording, Under a Painted Sky, will certainly attest to that. Wexler is accompanied by some of the most talented musicians in the jazz idiom, a perfect assemblage of formidable artists to complete this musical tableau.On "And I Hoped For Your Love" Judy Wexler lays it all on the line as she interprets the lyrics to this song of sorrow with her soul bared. Alan Pasqua adds his magical touch to an already elegant tu

Jane Stuart has all the attributes of a real jazz singer and she utilizes them all in this fine album. The musicians are all first class, and that's as it should be on a recording of this calibre."I Just Found Out About Love" A happy tempo and some hip scatting from La Belle Stuart gets this album off the ground in a hurry. In the immortal words of Jerry Lewis, "I Like It, I Like It""Let It Come To You" Is an original by Stuart. This track is an introspective look into the soul of Jane Stuart. T