With a career that included stints ranging from Benny Goodman to Charles Mingus, Pepper Adams was one of the top baritone saxists of the modern era, with a big bold tone as an antithesis to Gerry Mulligan’s California Cool.
At this stage in the career, 1972, he was doing a lot of studio work and holding the bari sax chair for the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, so this gig in Edmonton, Albert was a welcome chance for him to stretch out, and stretch out he does, with Tommy Banks/p, Bobby Cairns/eb and Tom Doran on this two disc set.
Almost all of the tunes here clock in between 12-19 minutes, so there’s plenty of space for soloing and duets, as Cairns and Banks sear through a truncated “Stella By Starlight” and Banks goes bluesy on the lovely and subdued “Civilizations and Its Discontents””. Doran sears through “Oleo” with the leader, and Adams is majesterial throughout, muscular in his swing on “Three and One” and bouncing like a Super Ball on the bopping “Patrice”. The sound quality is acceptable for its time, and you can feel the atmosphere throughout this sweaty 70s set.