Sweetenings

Harry "Sweets" Edison added something special to any date in which he took part, but these 1958 sessions he led for Roulette are especially enjoyable. Joined by either Jimmy Jones or Kenny Drew on piano and Joe Benjamin or John Simmons on bass, along with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest and drummer Charlie Persip, Edison's trumpet swings effortlessly through a batch of standards and originals. The loping blues "Centerpiece" became a classic jazz composition, recorded by numerous jazz artists, but this was its debut appearance on LP. "Jive at Five" dates from his years with Count Basie and finds the band sticking to an accompanying role in this swinging but brief arrangement. Edison utilizes a mute in the gently swinging "Louisiana," while he showboats just a bit in a brief take of "It Happened in Monterey." While this record might have offered a little more variety by giving solo space to some of the talented sidemen present, this long out of print LP is well worth acquiring. ~ Ken Dryden