Critic's Review
Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
This CD reissue brings back one of tenor saxophonist Budd Johnson's best showcases. Featured in a quintet with his brother Keg Johnson on trombone, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist George Duvivier, and drummer Charlie Persip, Budd starts off with a ballad feature ("Serenade in Blue") and performs three originals (including "Downtown Manhattan" and "Uptown Manhattan") as well as three other veteran standards. Throughout, Johnson sounds both modern, as if he had come of age as one of the "cool school," and timeless, since he was a major player by the mid-'30s. A fine set.
