Shirley Scott’s recordings for Prestige tended to feature her organ without horns, or with tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine (her husband during the 1960s). This session expands the band to a trumpet-and-tenor quintet, and serves as a worthy showcase for both Scott and Joe Newman, who takes an extended muted solo on “Wagon Wheels” and comes out breathing fire on “Give Me the Simple Life.” Tenor sax duties are handled by Oliver Nelson, a Prestige mainstay during the period and Newman’s front-line partner in the trumpeter’s quintet. As usual, Scott selects a varied and unhackneyed program, creating a Sonny Rollins flavor with the inclusion of the title track (originally performed on Saxophone Colossus, OJC-291) and “Wagon Wheels” (from Way Out West, OJC-337). The bonus track “How Sweet” completes one of Scott’s most memorable sessions.

with Oliver Nelson, Joe Newman, George Tucker, Roy Brooks