The Fair 1960 Kirmes

The Fireballs moved on from the successes of "Torquay" and "Vaquero" for Top Rank and cut this gem of an album for Warwick in 1961. The leadoff single was "Rik-A-Tik," which they had already cut for Top Rank, followed by "Quite a Party," another Top 30 hit for the band. The resulting album was another collection of crisply played instrumentals, most with a Spanish theme, all expertly produced by Norman Petty. Another one to add to your Fireballs collection, and superior to many of their later Dot albums.

Originally released by the very obscure Jaro label, this excellent session was saved and reissued by Xanadu on a 1975 LP. The talented but underrated tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose has a rare opportunity to stretch out in a quartet with pianist Tommy Flanagan (who would become a longtime friend), bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Pete La Roca. J.R., whose recording sessions were few and far between during his career, is in top form on five of his offbeat yet logical originals and two standard ballads, sometimes showing a Sonny Rollins influence but mostly sounding fairly distinctive.