Spain's Definitive Classics imprint issues baritone saxophonist
Serge Chaloff's two best known recordings,
Boston Blow Up! and
Blue Serge on a single CD, containing the original 21 released tracks, without the bonus cuts that first Mosaic and later Capitol Jazz issued. The sequential presentation here is assembled in
reverse chronological order of recording rather than the previously released versions' track schemes. For those familiar with the albums as originally presented, this may be a problem, but Definitive Classics is a true jazz nut's label, and keeping things historically straight is one of their trademarks. The sound is good though not excellent (Mosaic gets the marks for that), but this set is nonetheless well worth owning for anyone who doesn't already have the material and is interested in 1950s East Coast jazz at its best.
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Thom Jurek, Rovi