Like his labelmates Jaki Byard and Booker Ervin, Sonny Criss left a legacy of often overlooked music on the Prestige label that must be taken into account when taking the full measure of jazz in the Sixties. Criss's strengths--originality within the accepted modern style, unrelenting passion, and a knack for making contemporary pop material like "Eleanor Rigby" and "Misty Roses" jazz-worthy--are all on display in this program, which spotlights his alto sax in a quartet setting. Whether the source is Duke Ellington or Lennon and McCartney, Criss assures that each tune receives his intensely personal stamp. There is also a previously unissued version of "All the Things You Are" from an earlier session, with a Walter Davis piano introduction borrowed from Jimmy Heath's "Gingerbread Boy."

with Eddie Green, Walter Davis, Bob Cranshaw, Paul Chambers, Alan Dawson