Customer Reviews

Junior's Cookin

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Tenor saxophonist Junior Cook was probably best known as a member of Horace Silver's great Quintet of 1958-64, a band well documented on the Blue Note label. Because of that group's success, Cook and fellow Silver bandmate Blue Mitchell were given the opportunity to record as leaders. Mitchell went on to record a string of albums for the Riverside label (see my reviews), then jumped over to Blue Note himself, while Cook had to settle for this album on Jazzland. "Junior's Cookin" is basically a Horace Silver album without Horace Silver. Recorded half in Long Beach, CA in April 1961 and the other half in New York City later that December, the sessions featured Silver alumni Gene Taylor on bass, Roy Brooks on drums, and of course, Blue on trumpet and Junior on tenor. Dolo Coker was the pianist for the Long Beach date (tracks 4-6), while Ronnie Matthews took over the bench in Manhattan. The disc's standout tunes are the Middle Eastern flavored "Myzar" and the bright "Pleasure Bent," both penned by tenor saxophonist and Cook colleague Roland Alexander. Don't miss this opportunity to "Cook" with Junior.

This isn't set the world on fire jazz, but it is good, solid, enjoyable 50's jazz from a fine player who never received the recognition he deserved (like many other sidemen who never got a big break)or was able to make many more albums, and in the company of one of my favourite trumpet players, Blue Mitchell, who may not have had the fireworks of a Lee Morgan or Freddie Hubbard, but he was a real pro who played beautifully and could (and what's wrong with that?) unfailingly entertain. Add an excellent drummer like Roy Brooks and you have an album to sit and listen to for sheer pleasure, especially as a relaxing break from the heavies.

My only negative comments are about the cover and the title. Riverside could never come anywhere near to the artwork and photos of the Blue Note stable and although it's nice to see Junior and Blue together with their instruments, the picture is just so contrived and the background incongruous. As for the title,why oh why did the jazz record companies back then keep on relentlessly punning on the artists' names (Lee Morgan being one of the biggest victims)?

It's the music that counts in the end, though.