Although the line-up to this album is a great line-up (featuring hardboppers Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins amongst others), the aim of this album is mainstream funk.

It is a pleasant album, with some great solos, some nice electric guitar by Ted Dunbar, some funky and swinging grooves by Higgins, but it lacks a certain something.

Fuller tries hard here to make a mainstream-record, even the label is called mainstream, and the compositions in fact are not that bad, but somehow I don't like the overuse of the electric piano (courtesy of Cedar Walton) on this album. Also the electric bass is used on one to many songs.

Especially the first song drags on for too long, without really going anywhere. Fuller had made so much better records, as a leader or with the Jazztet / Jazz Messengers.

I do like the solos: trumpet by Bill Hardman, trombone, saxes by Jimmy Heath and guitar by Ted Dunbar. The songs on the B-side are more hardboppish, but are mostly ruined by the electric bass. The purist jazz-song is Stella By Starlight with acoustic bass and acoustic piano, and some magnificent soloing by Fuller. A real treat!

As a jazzfunk album it is okay, somewhat reminescent of what Nucleus was putting out these days. But there are already so many of these jazzrock/softfunk albums, that it almost sounds too easylistening for me.

Sonny Rollins Plus 4 is essentially the Clifford Brown - Max Roach Quintet, but with Sonny Rollins, who replaced Harold Land.

The reason why this album is released under the name Sonny Rollins, is because he is the leader on this album, also supplying two original compositions, in addition to three standards.

This albums is also the last album to feature Brown and pianist Richie Powell, as they both die in a carcrash, later that year.

On a side-note, there is also a album under the name Max Roach Plus 4, but that album was recorded after the death of both Brown and Powell, and features both Rollins and bassist George Morrow. Trumpeteer Kenny Dorham, and pianists Ray Bryant and Bill Wallace replace Brown and Powell.

On this Rollins plus Four, you hear the original Brown/Roach Quintet as it also featured on the marvelous live album On Basin Street (recorded january, februari 1956). This album was recorded in march.

The quality of playing is high, as the band is very tight, maybe the tightest rhythmsection (Roach, Morrow, Powell) imaginable, and the solo's of Rollins and Brown are great. They are both on fire and their phrasing and delivery fit very well.

Most songs are mid- and uptempo, really delivering a punch. This album is an essential hard-bop album and also is an important historical document, because it is the last (studio)album with Brown and Powell.

This line-up of The Jazz Messengers (Blakey, Fuller, Morgan, Shorter, Timmons, Merritt) is a very special line-up. It is the first line-up as a sextet, adding master-trombonist Fuller to the line-up. It will also be the last one with Bobby Timmons, who will be replaced by Cedar Walton on the next albums.

Fuller not only shows his soulful trombone-playing but also writes the first composition on this record, showing how good a composer he actually is.

The weirdest thing about this album, is that the only original is said composition by Fuller. All the others (who are excellent composers) have not contributed. All the other five compositions are standards.

But the band really know how to play these standards, with that special Jazz Messengers-sound. They all sound nothing like we've heard before. I must say that this is the most beautiful version of Invitation I have heard uptil now.

The playing on this album is more than excellent. The album is full force Hard Bop wich is kind of odd, as it is released on Impulse!. One would expect a more out-there album, but on the other hand, what would you expect of a Jazz Messengers album.

An unique album in the history of hardbop as it pairs Fuller and Timmons, who both have a very soulful and bluesy approach.

The solo's of Morgan and Shorter are also of very high standard and the whole album sounds warm and cosy. This is really an underrated and lesser known Jazz-Messengers album, but I can sure recommend it to anyone.

Like the other Impulses this is not Lateefs best work. But still it is of high standard. Lateef is not only a gifted saxophone-player but also one of the best jazz-flautists I know.

On this album most songs are straight forward hardbop with saxophone and rhythmsection, but there are some surprises, like the playful 'Exactly Like You' with some upbeat oboe-playing. An uplifting song, and if the oboe is not your instrument, I can understand, but I really enjoy the oboe in jazz.

The absolute high-point of this album is the titletrack, a wonderful and adventurous composition with some excellent interplay in the rhythmsection. The fluteplaying here is really beautiful as is the cymbalwork and the mallet-played tomtoms by Roy Brooks jr. The compositions is very mysterious and has an middle-eastern flavour. Not only a highpoint of this album, but a highpoint in jazz-flute-history.

I can understand that the Impulse!-albums of Lateef to some are a bit of disappointment. But on the other hand, the playing is magnificent and the production is really good. In fact the Impulses of Lateef are great hard/post bop albums with some excellent suprises. They are not freejazz, avant garde or out-there or the new thing, but enjoyable nevertheless.

This one may not be the best and most adventurous album of Lateef, but it sure is one of his most coherent.

A mostly mellow affair, with some hardbop thrown in the mix (the heavy and intense Semiocto), but like I said it's mostly modal jazz and ballads. But Yusef really knows how to blow a ballad. There are also a blues-piece and a wonderful adaption of my favorite composition in the world (Satie's Gymnopedie). Inn this version we have the flute playing the melody, and the rhythmsection (piano, drums and bass) filling in the gaps. Great playful drumming by James Black.

The most out-there composition is Medula Sonata, wich is a joy to listen to. A lot of percussion and great saxophone-playing and lot of dissonants make this composition the only real free-ish song on this album.

There is also a solo-piece by pianist Georges Arvanitas at the end of Side B, wich is a nice addition and a surprise to my ears. I have not heard of Arvanitas before, but he has a nice flowing playing-style.

There's is no oboe on this album, just tenor saxophone, flute and bamboo-flute. But that's okay. This album is definately a great Lateef-album and also a great Impulse!-album. I can strongly recommend this one.