From Birdland to Broadway

This rare opportunity to hear veteran bassist Bill Crow as a leader came about in 1995 to serve as "musical accompaniment" to the Japanese translation of his autobiography, From Birdland to Broadway, though the CD was only released in Japan. Crow, who is an accomplished soloist when he chooses to take a chorus or two, is joined by veteran tenor saxophonist Carmen Leggio, guitarist Joe Cohn (son of tenor sax legend Al Cohn), and drummer David Jones. The packaging is a little confusing, with the outside cover showing only eight tracks, but there are actually 11 in all on this CD, which was evidently simultaneously issued on LP. Crow starts off with two originals. The title track is a catchy blues with a snappy strut rhythm and fine solos by both Cohn and Leggio, while "Share a Key" is a tasty bossa nova. Crow also revives an oldie, "News From Blueport," which the bassist had written in the early '60s while a member of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet; this memorable blues still inspires musicians to shine. In addition to several enjoyable arrangements of standards, Crow's subtle scoring of Oscar Pettiford's "Tricotism" and Mulligan's underappreciated ballad "Night Lights" round out this highly recommended release.