Quincy Jones - Mastercuts

A good reminder that Quincy Jones, at his best, was a jazz big-band leader, this CD compiles some well-known standards, commercial but not overtly pop tunes, and some modern arrangements that allow the leader/conductor a chance to stretch. Thankfully this is not an alleged greatest-hits package, but conversely contains no compositions he wrote. Fine and unique takes of "Watermelon Man," "Take Five," "Walk on the Wild Side," and "Back at the Chicken Shack" buoy the set. "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" is a bit empty, spacious, and breezy, but is offset by Mal Waldron's very creative "Abstractions," Leonard Feather's "Ondine," and the soul-jazz evergreen written by Ray Brown and Steve Allen, "Gravy Waltz." For those who do not own his Mercury/EmArcy or Impulse label gems, this would provide a viable entry point into the real world Jones grew through onto his other less interesting but more financially lucrative forays. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide