Book Cooks

Personnel: Booker Ervin, Zoot Sims (tenor saxophone); Tommy Turrentine (trumpet); Tommy Flanagan (piano); George Tucker (bass); Danny Richmond (drums).
Recorded in June 1960. Includes original liner notes by Ira Gitler and reissue liner notes by Joseph F. Laredo.
Digitally remastered by Tom Moulton & Greg Vaughn (Frankford Wayne Mastering Labs, New York, New York).
Booker Ervin's debut as a leader teamed the intense tenor saxophonist with fellow tenor Zoot Sims (one will have little difficulty telling the cool-toned Zoot apart from Booker), trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist George Tucker and drummer Dannie Richmond. Ervin (who has his ballad "Largo" as a feature) performs five originals and "Poor Butterfly"; best are the slow blues "The Blue Book" and the rapid blues "The Book Cooks." ~ Scott Yanow