Search - Red Garland :: The Quota

Much more than the sum of its parts

Stephen Elman | Brighton, MA USA | 04/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sometimes everything just jells perfectly, and that's the case with this neglected date, recorded 5/3/71 and produced by Don Schlitten for MPS. It's really a session co-led by Red and saxophonist Jimmy Heath, with Peck Morrison on bass and drummer Lenny McBrowne. For some reason, the two leaders seem to inspire one another - Garland's comping pushes Jimmy's solos to unexpected places, and Jimmy's solos give Red great launching pads. "Love for Sale" is a gem. "Days of Wine and Roses" and "On a Clear Day" can be sappy in the wrong hands . . . but Red's beautiful block chording adds much-needed harmonic depth to both of them. The originals are well-chosen - two riff blues ("The Quota" by Heath and "The Squirrel" by Tadd Dameron) and a jazz waltz ("For Carl," written to commemorate Carl Perkins by bassist Leroy Vinnegar). If you liked Jimmy's dates for Muse and Xanadu, you'll definitely like this one, and in my opinion, Red's work makes it even better than most of Jimmy's other recordings."