Don't buy this recent RVG remaster because it's Herbie Hancock's first recording session (who looks all of 14 in the photo though he was 21 at the time). Pick it up because, as Michael Richmond suggests in the previous review, "Royal Flush" is a winning hand by Byrd, possibly his best ever.

Should proof be required, listen to the trumpeter's performance of "I'm a Fool to Want You," the song often said to be Sinatra's most moving performance thanks to the influence of Ava Gardner. She must have had the same impact on Donald Byrd, who turns in the instrumental equivalent of Sinatra's reading, right down to Old Blue's "breathless" phrasing. The trumpeter takes the song once through, demonstrating both extraordinary technique and sensitive musicianship when he employs circular breathing in the bridge, extending the two most important notes of the song until time itself is suspended.

As for Hancock, there's nothing about his playing to suggest he's anything other than a seasoned pro on what was, in fact, his actual "maiden voyage." On the opener, "Hush," he summons up a Ramsey Lewis gospel feel; his solo on "Jorgie's" could have been played by Bill Evans; on the modal "Shangri-La" (not the familiar pop hit) he evokes the voicings and melodic patterns of McCoy Tyner. And contrary to expectations, there's never the slightest hint of "overplaying."

In some respects, I wish I could give the recording four and one-half because the last two tunes are anti-climactic: Byrd's "6 M's" is another laid-back blues in C (at least in 3/4 this time), and Herbie's "Requiem" is too close to "Shangri-La" in modality and tempo. One up-tempo number with ample blowing time for Pepper Adams would certainly have done the trick. On the other hand, the most enduring and perpetually fresh jazz recording ever made--"Kind of Blue"--has no fast tunes. What's the difference? I know you're going to say Miles, Coltrane, and Bill Evans, but I don't think that's it. Instead, imagine what "Kind of Blue" would have sounded like (most pointedly Bill's piano) if recorded by Van Gelder.