Flash Out Of Our Hands (1973) [j. Edition 2010]

Horace Tapscott has long been one of Los Angeles' great jazz legends but the pianist has not been documented that thoroughly throughout his productive career. Other than a big band set from the same period, this solo piano LP was his first full-length recording. On what was a slightly more conservative set than most of his dates, Tapscott performs just two of his originals (including "Mary on Sunday") plus selections by Samuel Browne, Cal Massey ("Bakai"), Lester Robertson, Jesse Sharps, Elmo Hope and Billy Strayhorn ("Lush Life"). A fine outing that, if it were in-print, could serve as a fairly accessible introduction to the masterful pianist.

After recording the classic For Django and Catch Me sets for Pacific Jazz, guitarist Joe Pass got stuck recording commercial material for that label's subsidiary World Pacific. This LP finds Pass and a clearly bored Chet Baker (on flügelhorn) performing some of Bob Florence's duller arrangements for an orchestra and distracting background voices. The music consists of then-current and now mostly forgotten pop tunes (Eliot Tiegel in the liner notes raves about how great the songs are) including "It Was a Very Good Year," "What Now My Love," "The Phoenix Love Theme," and the one tune still remembered, "Dindi." Pass has a few worthwhile spots, but is often cut off by the singers or the overly tight charts. A historical curiosity at best.