Curtis Fuller - The Opener (1957)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2008 Rudy Van Gelder Edition.

Fuller was 22 years old when this album was recorded, so I have to forgive him for sounding like other trombonists (J.J. Johnson & Kai Winding) and the fact that it's a trifle bland. However, the restrained cocktail music here is enjoyable in the right setting. Timmons really impresses on piano.

Original 1957 liner notes written by Robert Levin, writer of liner notes for over 100 Blue Note albums. Noted jazz critic Bob Blumenthal wrote additional notes for the 2008 reissue.

Fuller - trombone
Hank Mobley - tenor saxophone
Bobby Timmons - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Art Taylor - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• DownBeat (★★★) : "Fuller manifests what seems to me to be an annoyingly limited sense of dynamics that lends a sameness of sound to his performances, regardless of tempo."
• Billboard (67 out of 100): "interesting, but the set won't be easy to sell "
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: Of the 6 here, my favorites are the standards A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening,Here's To My Lady, and Soon. Also included are two blues-based originals by Fuller and a calypso number from bassist Oscar Pettiford appropriately titled Oscarlypso.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.