Search - Oliver Nelson :: Fantabulous (Reis) (Rstr) (Mlps)

At Long Last

Rob Keil | San Francisco | 01/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Oliver Nelson was perhaps THE arranger of large jazz groups in the 1960's, creating landmark albums under his own name as well as backing Jazz soloists Like Jimmy Smith and Stanley Turrentine. His work is sophisticated but at the same time fun and listenable. This record is no exception. The recording quality is great on this one and it's so nice to hear a big band in stereo as it was meant to be heard in a big room.



By the way, if you dig this CD, Oliver Nelson's big band arrangements from this same era can be heard on Jimmy Smith's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff" and Stanley Turrentine's "Joyride".



I'm not a big fan of the digipak packaging (which is environmentally friendly, being made mostly of paper, but which falls apart over time), but kudos to Verve for finally releasing this great session on CD. Fantabulous, indeed."