Hod O'Brien Quintet - Opalessence

1985 recording

8 tracks

Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, Hod leads a quintet on this session with Tom Harrell on trumpetand flugelhorn, the late and legendary Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Ray Drummond on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums. Hod's wife, jazz singer Stephanie Nakasian, makes an appearance on one of his original pieces, "A Handful of Dust."

Three of the eight selections are O' Brien originals, one by trumpeter Harrell "Touchstone", is an exquisite free and floating number that Hod refers to as a "Maiden Voyage" type quality, and Pepper Adams adds an original, "Joy Road", with two takes offered of this fine, uplifting piece which Hod calls his favorite on the session. The group also does extended workouts on two classic jazz standards, Clifford Brown's "The Blues Walk" and "Detour Ahead", which was added as a bonus track on the CD.