Elgart

Along with his brother Larry, trumpeter Les Elgart led one of the more popular swing orchestras of the '50s. His smooth, tightly arranged sound helped keep the declining big band style alive on the charts for a little while longer, and his later reunions with Larry often produced stylistic detours into contemporary easy listening trends…

This quartet session features the compositions of bassist Paolino Dalla Porta and pianist Stefano Battaglia, along with Kenny Wheeler's trumpet and flugelhorn solos and drummer Bill Elgart's rhythmic support. While Porta has solid technique and excellent tone, and Battaglia offers a reasonable approximation of Keith Jarrett's playing style, this date doesn't quite manage to inspire. That's mostly due to Wheeler, whose playing wavers and occasionally falters. His flugelhorn solos are more mellow, better executed and successful, but as the principal soloist outside the rhythm section, he's not always up to the task on this date.