Like the greatest tenor saxophonist of his (or perhaps any) generation, John Coltrane, to whom he bore little true stylistic resemblance, Booker Ervin (1930-1970) possessed an urgent cry and was a master of extended improvisation, especially in minor keys. On two of these four 1965 marathons, the recordings of which surmounted less than optimum circumstances in the wee, small hours of the morning, Ervin was paired with that giant of bebop tenorists and fellow expatriate-in-Europe, Dexter Gordon (1923-1990). The two wage epic battles (and Dexter had dueled with the best) on "Dexter's Deck" and the title cutting contest, while Ervin alone, again backed by the resourceful rhythm team of Jaki Byard/Reggie Workman/Alan Dawson, does his mesmerizing stuff on "The Trance" and "Speak Low."

with Dexter Gordon, Jaki Byard, Reggie Workman, Alan Dawson