Larry Young's Unity

Strong, interesting jazz album featuring Larry Young, Elvin Jones, Joe Henderson, and Woody Shaw. Though I am not usually a fan of electric organs in jazz (though I will throw down to some Jimmy Smith soul-jazz and blues), this cut is far more exploratory and experimental, largely owing to the presence of Jones, Henderson and Woody Shaw, whose contributions build the album. "Softly As in a Morning Sunrise" receives beautiful treatment here, "Zoltan" is nice, slightly 'out there' and features a nice little drum solo from Jones with strong Latin-infused flavor and a quirky head! And Joe Henderson keeps things from getting boring. Alas, the organ does not do justice to "Monk's Dream," unfortunately, despite an interesting drum solo by Jones. Regardless, it's nice to hear Larry Young stretch out beyond soul-jazz and hard bop for some nice, exploratory work. "If" fortunately sweeps in and saves the listener after the interesting attempt at a duo electric organ-drum rendition of "Monk's Dream," but lacks the spirited fire and rhythms of "Zoltan" while "The Moontrane" speeds things up and is a swinging number, with Jones' solo reminding me of his playing on "Africa" with Coltrane. If you want to hear interesting, sometimes funky, sometimes contemplative hard bop with some avant-garde leanings, check this out.