Into Somewhere

One of the happier events in jazz of the early '80s was the comeback of Don Lanphere. A talented tenor-saxophonist during the late '40s who had held his own on a record date with trumpeter Fats Navarro and who also played with Artie Shaw's short-lived bebop band and the Woody Herman Orchestra, Lanphere was off the jazz scene for a few decades. He came back with a series of superb albums for the Hep label, often teaming up with trumpeter Jonathan Pugh. Lanphere's first recording for Hep was From Out of Nowhere, so Into Somewhere was the follow-up. The first few selections are particularly memorable since they consist of a speedy run-through on the chord changes of "Cherokee" ("Noble Indian Song Pt. 2"), a lyrical "Dear Old Stockholm," a rare waltz version of "Take the 'A' Train," and a witty "Brown Rock," which is based loosely on "Sweet Georgia Brown." Lanphere doubles on soprano and sounds quite individual on both of his horns. Pugh and pianist Don Friedman also have plenty of fine solos on this well-constructed and easily recommended CD reissue.