
Teddy Edwards - Sunset Eyes (Mono)
Tenor Saxophone – Teddy Edwards
Drums: Al Levitt (A1), Billy Higgins (A2-7, B1-5)
Piano: Ronnie Ball (A1), Joe Castro (A2, A4-7), Amos Trice (A3, B3-5)
Bass: Ben Tucker (A1), Leroy Vinnegar (A2-7, B1-5)
Written by Teddy Edwards (A1, A4-7, B2, B4), Leroy Vinnegar (A2), Jack Baker, George Fragos, Dick Gasparre (A3), King Pleasure (B1)
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Mono
Studio
Record Press : RTI
Label : Blue Note Tone Poet
Original Label : Pacific Jazz
Recorded on August 16, 1959 (A1); March 21, 1960 (A3, B3-B5); August 16, 1960 (A2, A4-A7, B1, B2) at Rex Productions Studio, Hollywood, CA
Original session engineered and produced by Richard Bock
Reissue produced by Joe Harley
Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
Cover Design & Photography by Woody Woodward
Originally Released in 1960
Reissued in 2025
Tracks :
Side A:
- Tempo de Blues
- Vintage '57
- I Hear a Rhapsody
- Up in Teddy's New Flat
- Sunset Eyes
Side B:
- Teddy's Tune
- Takin' Off
- The New Symphony Sid
- My Kinda Blues
- Takin' Off [First Version]
Review :
“Teddy Edwards, who took part in classic tenor battles with Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray in Los Angeles during the mid- to late '40s, remained a major tenorman for more than half a century. However, his decision to live in L.A. resulted in him being greatly underrated through the years. Fortunately, the superior hard bop tenor (who showed that there was more than just cool jazz being played on the West Coast in the 1950s) recorded on a fairly frequent basis throughout his career. This set features music from 1959-1960 with Edwards joined by either Amos Trice, Joe Castro or Ronnie Ball on piano, Leroy Vinnegar or Ben Tucker on bass, and Billy Higgins or Al Levitt on drums. Edwards, an underrated composer, performs six of his originals (including his most famous composition, "Sunset Eyes," and two versions of "Takin' Off"), Vinnegar's "Vintage '57," and a pair of standards. Although there are short solos for Castro and Vinnegar, the focus throughout is on the leader's distinctive and likable tenor. Since the great Teddy Edwards never recorded an uninspiring record, this date is easily recommended to fans of straight-ahead jazz.” AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow
Rating:
AllMusic : 4 / 5 ; Discogs 4 / 5