For several months prior to this session, Art had been preparing for his dream-come-true strings date, Winter Moon. Then he did it, stunningly and quickly–in two days. On the third day, satisfied and happy, the band returned to the studio, sans strings, and jammed. Stanley Cowell and Cecil McBee, master musicians, had proved their empathy with Art about a year earlier when they'd recorded the critically acclaimed Art Pepper Today. Carl Burnett, Art's favorite drummer, was his steady sideman, and the sublime Howard Roberts, a bonus holdover from the string session, sat in on two tunes. This is a deft, pretty, gleeful album. The pressure was off. This was the party.

with Stanley Cowell, Howard Roberts, Cecil McBee, Carl Burnett