Jimmy Forrest - Soul Street

With Pepper Adams, Ray Barretto, Ray Bryant, Jimmy Cleveland, King Curtis, George Duvivier, Art Farmer, Roy Haynes, Osie Johnson, Wendell Marshall, Oliver Nelson, Calvin Newborn, Tommy Potter, Seldon Powell, Jerome Richardson, Ernie Royal, Idrees Sulieman, and others.

There was a good deal more to Jimmy Forrest than "Night Train," his rhythm and blues hit of the early 1950s. Forrest was a full-service tenor saxophonist who emphasized rocking playing drenched in blues but whose abilities extended much further. Experienced with bands from Fate Marable to Duke Elllington, he interpreted a wide range of music and had a lyrical touch with ballads. All facets of Forrest emerge in this collection from the early 1960s. We hear him in three settings: with just a rhythm section; in the company of two other fine tenor men, Oliver Nelson and King Curtis; and with Nelson’s medium-sized band. Nelson’s writing plays an important role. Throughout, Forrest transmits the joy he always found in playing throughout his 40-year career.