1 	Tempo De Blues 	4:43
2 	Vintage '57 	7:09
3 	I Hear A Rhapsody 	3:29
4 	Up In Teddy's New Flat 	3:03
5 	Sunset Eyes 	5:24
6 	Teddy's Tune 	6:08
7 	Takin' Off 	6:30
8 	The New Symphony Sid 	2:12
9 	My Kinda Blues 	5:08
10 	Takin' Off (First Version) 	2:28

Bass – Ben Tucker (tracks: 1), Leroy Vinnegar (tracks: 2 to 10)
Drums – Al Levitt (tracks: 1), Billy Higgins (tracks: 2 to 10)
Piano – Amos Trice (tracks: 3, 8 to 10), Joe Castro (tracks: 2, 4 to 7), Ronnie Ball (tracks: 1)
Tenor Saxophone – Teddy Edwards

Teddy Edwards, who took part in classic tenor battles with Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray in Los Angeles during the mid- to late '40s, remained a major tenorman for more than half a century. However, his decision to live in L.A. resulted in him being greatly underrated through the years. Fortunately, the superior hard bop tenor (who showed that there was more than just cool jazz being played on the West Coast in the 1950s) recorded on a fairly frequent basis throughout his career. This set features music from 1959-1960 with Edwards joined by either Amos Trice, Joe Castro or Ronnie Ball on piano, Leroy Vinnegar or Ben Tucker on bass, and Billy Higgins or Al Levitt on drums. Edwards, an underrated composer, performs six of his originals (including his most famous composition, "Sunset Eyes," and two versions of "Takin' Off"), Vinnegar's "Vintage '57," and a pair of standards. Although there are short solos for Castro and Vinnegar, the focus throughout is on the leader's distinctive and likable tenor. Since the great Teddy Edwards never recorded an uninspiring record, this date is easily recommended to fans of straight-ahead jazz. ---Scott Yanow, AllMusic Review

There’s little on veteran Los Angeles-based tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards’ date which sounds distinctively West Coast but here it is, part of a program of Pacific Jazz limited edition reissues in their West Coast Classics series from Capitol Records. All but one of the tracks feature Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Billy Higgins on drums, the latter fresh from several sessions with Ornette Coleman and here playing as straight ahead as can be, the whole rhythm section swinging like mad, with either Amos Trice or mostly Joe Castro on piano. With Castro, this was a working group, with both live dates and session work. The program is mostly blues or bebop-flavored originals based on or close to the chord changes of “I’ve Got Rhythm,” with the title track — a Latin-flavored composition by the leader — a ballad standard, and Leroy Vinnegar’s “Vintage ‘57” thrown in for variety. The CD issue augments the LP original with the first and the three final tracks, with the opener another Edwards blues, this time with a different rhythm section: Ronnie Ball in piano, Ben Tucker on bass, and Al Levitt on drums.

Edwards is a wonderful and distinctive tenor player, with a smooth tone in the middle and lower register, a bit brassier in the upper, and a great sense of swing. His work is replete with melodic ideas, a gestural sense of variation in dynamics, and a lot of freedom with the beat — here relaxed and behind, there right on top of it or a little ahead. Pianists Trice and Castro both have that wonderful bebop-plus-barroom feel that I associate most with Sonny Clark. All three groups give the lie to the notion that music of the period from Los Angeles was necessarily “cool” or overly arranged. It’s just a pleasure to here these authoritative quartet performances from the middle of Teddy Edwards’ and Leroy Vinnegar’s long careers and the beginnings of Billy Higgins’. ---Larryy Koenigsberg, allaboutjazz.com

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A1 	Our Love Is Here To Stay 	5:34
A2 	Frankly Speaking 	5:49
A3 	Fools Rush In 	4:45
A4 	Undecided 	4:32
B1 	Blue's Comjumations 	6:50
B2 	Willow Weep For Me 	5:22
B3 	Lover Come Back To Me 	5:18

Bass – Leroy Vinnegar
Drums – Ron Jefferson
Piano – Les McCann
Tenor Saxophone – Teddy Edwards 

What always struck me most, was that Teddy Edwards forever creates an emotionally happy atmosphere, one spurred on by the mutual support and admiration of those he plays with, though sadly, seems to have gotten lost in the land of obscure saxophonists ... Los Angeles.

It’s About Time was laid down while living in California, being deeply influenced by those other great jazz musicians who’d found their way to the west coast and were bringing to light a new set of standards and presentations based on the post-bop styles of the late 1940’s. While all of his albums are very satisfying, floating on a smooth undercurrent, Edwards is a bit too angular for my tastes, not so much attacking or punching his notes, yet defining them in a manner that does not allow for a smooth transition from note to note and phrase to phrase in order to create a translucent sonic wholeness. With Edwards one doesn’t get a plate of scrambled eggs, it’s more that one’s served up a dozen individual eggs, where to my ears Edwards never manages to find that sweet spot, that sonic wholeness or an alarming beauty.

If anything, Edwards appears to have been purposely attempting to find or create his own vision, his own sound, and while others may consider him cutting edge, I find his music to be rather forced and slightly uncomfortable, never allowing me to relax, nearly keeping me at arm’s length and unable to slip into his groove. Perhaps this is all of my own making, perhaps a combination of both he and I, though this is not music that has improved with age for me, nor is it a wine that goes down easy, rather Edwards in an understated manner commands that one must pay attention to each and every defining note, leaving me feeling lost in the structure, never able to share or be part of the big picture.

That said, this assemblage is a collection of numbers taken from three sessions, all of the recordings were laid down between March and May of 1960 for Pacific Jazz and World Pacific labels, featuring both Edwards and Les McCann in leads. The sincere shining moments on this record are those of the backing ensembles, leaving me to wonder whey Teddy Edwards could not settle into the fine nuances of these other great players, why he felt that he needed to ride above them, delivering an angular linear procession that stands in sharp contrast and juxtaposition to that beautiful emancipating background.

Regardless, this is an album I highly recommend and endorse, essentially in its vinyl format. ---rateyourmusic.com

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