• 4 1/2 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE

Fire-Eater features just four long cuts, all between seven and ten minutes in length, on a session that has Bryant stretching out his meaty tone and improvisations a bit further than usual.

This is respectable soul-jazz with a lot of funk, but no fusion, employing the tenor sax-organ-guitar-drums lineup. All of the material was written by Bryant or members of the quartet, and favors a laid-back groove that's on the slow side, except for "Mister S.," on which guitarist Wilbert Longmire has a particularly engaging solo.

PERSONNEL:

• Rusty Bryant - (tenor sax)
• Bill Mason - (organ on SIDE A)
• Leon Spencer Jr. - (organ on SIDE B)
• Wilbert Longmire - (guitar)
• Idris Muhammad - (drums)

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Fire Eater
• A2. Free At Last

• SIDE B
• B1. The Hooker
• B2. Mister S.