It was fitting that Gene Ammons's last recording session was in the mold of the unfettered dates that endeared him to so many listeners during his first Prestige era. As he had for albums like The Happy Blues (OJC-013) and Jammin' with Gene (OJC-211), he surrounded himself with musicians who shared his primary values--swing, melodic invention, and honest emotion. Nat Adderley, Sam Jones, and Louis Hayes were colleagues in the Cannonball Adderley band and longtime admirers of Ammons. Gary Bartz was one of the brightest of the young post-bop alto players who became prominent in the 1960s. Kenny Drew was a pianist of Ammons's generation who came up on a parallel track during the heady days of bebop's ascendancy in the 1940s but had never recorded with him. Their compatibility was enhanced by a repertoire that included a couple of blues, an Ellington piece, an agreeable pop tune, a Duke Pearson original, and the ballad whose title turned out to be sadly prophetic.

Sticks, Alone Again (Naturally), It Don't Mean a Thing, Jeannine, Geru's Blues, Goodbye

with Nat Adderley, Gary Bartz, Kenny Drew, Sam Jones, Louis Hayes, Ray Barretto