Quartet hardbop at its best, pianist Hampton Hawes leads the ensemble alongside Barney Kessel on guitar, Red Mitchell on bass and Shelly Manne on drums, on this 1958 date from the Contemporary Label. 6 of the 9 tracks are standards including Sweet Sue, Just You, and Charlie Parker’s Yardbird Suite. 2 more are blues heads written by Hawes and a lovely medium tempo rhythm changes track composed by Mitchell in which he takes a tasteful bow melody and solo. As with most of the items in my store, I believe focusing on the quarter-note feel between bassist and drummer is of paramount importance to develop the jazz style as a rhythm section member. Mitchell’s lines are clean and creative; something all jazz bassists should aspire to incorporate into their own playing.