Inducted into the mythical Jazz Balladeer Hall of Fame, Gene Ammons's large and enduring deep-song legacy was almost entirely recorded for Prestige. With his vast, luminous tone and prayerful delivery, especially when backed by an organist, Ammons (1925-1974) epitomized the soul-jazz tenor man. This set, collected from performances recorded between 1960 and 1970, presents eleven heartfelt performances, including such "Jug" signatures as "Angel Eyes" and "My Foolish Heart." The latter is one of three numbers here co-starring Ammons's frequent partner and close friend Sonny Stitt, with whom in the late 1940s he helped forge the tandem tenor saxophone format--in much the way that Ammons was instrumental in creating "soul jazz" balladry itself.

Didn't We, (I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over, Out in the Cold Again, Let It Be You, Blue Velvet, My Foolish Heart, You Better Go Now, Lush Life, Angel Eyes, We'll Be Together Again, Born to Be Blue

with Sonny Phillips, Bernard Purdie, Clarence "Sleepy" Anderson, Sonny Stitt, Jack McDuff, Charlie Persip, Doug Watkins, Ray Barretto, J.C. Heard, John Houston, Wynton Kelly, George Duvivier, Frank Wess, Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Arthur Taylor, Wendell Marshall, Walter Perkins, and others