Perhaps pianist Junior Mance's greatest talent is his ability to tell a story, to get his message across so that listeners feel it, deeply. Take his crackling title track on this 1962 session. The tempo is jackrabbit-fast yet Mance, a bluesy bopper who was a stellar sideman with Dinah Washington, Cannonball Adderley, and Dizzy Gillespie before emerging as a leader, plays ideas that are both complex and easy on the ear. His meaning is clear: enjoy this happy, foot-tapping music. The slower "For Dancers Only" also cooks like mad, and is rich with blues essence. The Gillespie classic, "Tin Tin Deo," is a buoyant delight while the gentler "Azure Te" and "Jitterbug Waltz" are sweetly tuneful. Bassist Ron Carter and drummer Mickey Roker are the ace accompanists.

with Junior Mance, Ron Carter, Mickey Roker