This killer little
Groove Holmes date was produced by the mighty
Sonny Lester, and features a big band arranged and conducted by
Manny Albam. Other than
Holmes, the only other soloist credited here is
Eddie Daniels on tenor and flute. The material here is curious upon first glance, with covers of
Gerry Goffin's "Go Away Little Girl,"
Stevie Wonder's "You've Got It Bad," and
Carole King's "It's Going to Take Some Time" situated around some hard soul-jazz numbers by the organist, including "Groove's Groove," along with
Norman Gimbel's sweet ballad "How Insensitive" and slippery little soul tune "Meditation." Add to this deep soul readings of
Al Hague's standard "Young and Foolish" and
Armando Manzanero's Latin bouncer "It's Impossible," and you have a program that might not work at all. But it does.
Holmes is in fine form, slippery and breezy as ever, never bogging down.
Albam's arrangements are not overly ornate and
Daniels, normally a pristine and very studied player, lets loose a bit here -- especially on tenor. One would wish for credits on who the session's guitarist is, but alas, it's not to be -- but whoever he is, he's a burner too, able to trade licks with
Groove without seams or cracks. For
Holmes fans, this is a taste of something different to be sure, but it's also a great listen.
–
Thom Jurek, Rovi