Bob Ackerman is a master saxophone technician, and on this album he shows off his stuff.
He plays tenor and alto [and flute on one track], in a variety of settings that is apparently culled from various uncredited recording sessions.
In one session, a quartet with Mickey Tucker, Clint Houston and Eddie Gladden, Ackerman is robust and blowing, in mainstream and hard bop tones. He has a contemporary treatment of “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” in a piano-less trio, while a truly modern sensibility is reached on his improvisations with Wilbur Morris and Dennis Charles.
The only drawback is that the album is too much a melange; Ackerman would be well-served, and worth hearing, in cohesive, unified presentations on any future discs.
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