As
Dizzy Reece
's first album for
Blue Note
,
Blues in Trinity
goes a long way to establish the trumpeter's signature sound.
Reece
doesn't take chances stylistically; he prefers to stay within the confines of hard bop. Nevertheless, he has a bold, forceful sound that simply burns with passion. Even on slower numbers, there's a fire to his playing that keeps
from being predictable. The high quality of the album is even more impressive given the recording circumstances. The English-based
was playing in Paris at the time, and he assembled a sextet featuring the vacationing British musicians
Tubby Hayes
(tenor saxophone) and
Terry Shannon
(piano), visiting American stars
Donald Byrd
(trumpet) and
Art Taylor
(drums), and Canadian bassist
Lloyd Thompson
, who was playing in Paris with
Zoot Sims
. Although the band was thrown together, there's a definite spark to this combo, which interacts as if it had been playing together for a long time. Throughout it all,
steals the show with his robust playing, and that's why
rises above the level of standard-issue hard bop and becomes something special. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine