It is hardly surprising that Buddy Collette was among the first black musicians to crack the lucrative Los Angeles studio scene in the late Forties, given his mastery of the clarinet, flute, and saxophone families. Collette's talents as a soloist were ignored, though, until he emerged in the original Chico Hamilton Quintet and on his own Contemporary albums. This set was his second for the label and, with its exclusive diet of quartet performances, provides an even clearer showcase for Collette the improviser than the previous Man of Many Parts (OJCCD-239-2). Collette is heard here on clarinet, flute, alto sax, and tenor sax in a balanced program of standards and infectious originals.

with Don Friedman, Dick Shreve, Calvin Jackson, John Goodman, Leroy Vinnegar, Bill Dolney, Shelly Manne