Here we find two early sessions by Clark Terry. The first date marks the trumpeter's recording debut as a leader, counting for the occasion on the inestimable collaboration of arranger and composer Quincy Jones. The musicians in the band are among the best in the business: pianist Horace Silver, drummer Art Blakey, bassists Oscar Pettiford and Wendell Marshall, saxophonist Cecil Payne and trombonist Jimmy Cleveland.

As a bonus, there is obscure Clark Terry session recorded around the same time as the previous LP under the name of Ellington's clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton. This sextet presents a rare instrumentation, with no piano and Sidney Gross on rhythm guitar filling the blanks. The great Oscar Pettiford is again on bass, playing an amazing solo on Ellington's "Solitude"!

PERSONNEL:

ON TRACKS [1-8]:

CLARK TERRY, trumpet
JIMMY CLEVELAND, trombone
CECIL PAYNE, baritone sax
HORACE SILVER, piano
OSCAR PETTIFORD, bass (2, 4, 5, 7 & 8)
WENDELL MARSHALL, bass (1, 3 & 6)
ART BLAKEY, drums
QUINCY JONES, arranger

Fine Studio Recording, New York, January 3 & 4, 1955

[9-16] BONUS TRACKS:

CLARK TERRY, trumpet
JIMMY HAMILTON, clarinet
BARRY GALBRAITH, guitar
OSCAR PETTIFORD, bass
SIDNEY GROSS, guitar
OSIE JOHNSON, drums

New York, December 1954

TRACKS:

01. Swahili
02. Double Play
03. Slow Boat
04. Co-op
05. Kitten
06. The Countess
07. Tuma
08. Chuckles
09. Bohemia After Dar
10. I Get A Kick Out Of You
11. Blues In My Room
12. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
13. Chuckles
14. Blues For Clarinet
15. Solitude
16. What Am I Here For

TOTAL TIME: 73:42