Personnel:
Curtis Amy (ts, ss), Steve Huffsteter (tp, flh), Bob McChesney (tb), Frank Strazzeri (p), Donn Wyatt (p, keyb), John B. Williams (b), Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler (d), Merry Clayton (vcl)
Reference: FSRCD 5004
Bar code: 8427328650045
Good soul-jazz and hard bop tenor and soprano saxophonist, Curtis Amy enjoyed a busy period in the '60s, then dropped out of sight. He had a strong tone and nice, lightly swinging style. He recorded with Dizzy Gillespie in 1955, then worked in the early '60s with Onzy Matthews and Roy Ayers, and performed and recorded with Gerald Wilson in 1965 and 1966. Amy led bands that featured Bobby Hutcherson, Victor Feldman, Jimmy Owens, Kenny Barron, and Ayers in the '60s, and recorded for Pacific Jazz and Verve.
"Saxophonist Curtis Amy gained some recognition for his Pacific Jazz recordings of 1960-1963, but after 1966 he worked primarily as a session and studio musician and was completely forgotten in the jazz world. In 1994, when he was 67, he was persuaded to go back in the studio and make a long-overdue jazz record for Fresh Sound. Joined by trumpeter Steve Huffsteter, trombonist Bob McChesney, Donn Wyatt or Frank Strazzeri on piano, bassist John B. Williams, and drummer Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, Amy performs three originals that he co-wrote with Wyatt, and a song apiece by Huffsteter, Strazzeri, and Rob Mullins. The music is more advanced than his work of 30 years earlier, and, unfortunately, most of the new songs are not all that memorable. On the bright side, Amy (heard on tenor and soprano) still sounded in excellent form (his chops had not declined), and it was a welcome occasion having him back in a jazz context again."
Scott Yanow -All Music Guide
