For those in the know, Howard Roberts was one of the most impressive six stringers around. He spent most of his career in the studios, backing artists like Julie London or June Christy, but he amassed an impressive catalogue all his own. Here, on this single disc you get him in vintage form in the mid to late 1950s in hip small band settings. A ’57 quartet with John T. Williams/Curtis Counce/b and Jerry Williams/dr or with Williams, Joe Mondragon/b and Jack Sperling/dr have Roberts waxing eloquent on “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” and “Anything Goes.” With West Coast studs Pete Jolly/p, Red Mitchell/b and Stan Levey from ’59, the team is soulful on “Easy Living” with Roberts using extreme tast eon “Lover Man.” With Counce, Bert Dahlander/dr and Victor Feldman on vibes and piano, Roberts digs in the deepest, with the strings and vibes bouncing delightfully on “How Do You Do” and “Hip Soup.” Roberts is a master of swinging melody on Horace Silver’s “Room 608” and is gorgeously lithe during “When Lights Are Low.” Guitarists like Roberts, such as Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis, were the epitome of style and clever swinging; this album reminds you of an era sadly missing today. You’ll never tire of this one.