This Side Of Strayhorn MaxJazz****

The considerable composing talent of Billy Strayhorn, Ellington's "alter ego", is one of the big pluses of this album. Another is the performance of Stafford on trumpet and flügelhorn – he revels in the quality of the material and the context of a cohesive quintet, completed by tenor Tim Warfield and a grooving Bruce Barth/Peter Washington/Dana Hall rhythm section. The programme developed out of a week-long commemoration of Strayhorn in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, so it's perhaps to be expected that respect rather than taking liberties with his work was the priority. That said, there is much to enjoy in this skilled mainstream-to-bop unit's approach to such as Smadaand U.M.M.G., with the best moments coming from Stafford's fine flügelhorn on Lush Lifeand Day Dreamand his Armstrong-flavoured trumpet on the little-known Lana Turner. See maxjazz.com