Some albums, once heard, stay with you for the rest of your life, others are played once and then promptly forgotten. The Long Way Home belongs very much in the former category to the extent that I feel I'll still be listening to it in ten years time, and of course tomorrow and the day after that.
At 98 years old bass player Bill Crow, like Jack Honeyborne at the Spice of Life on Monday, proves that age is no obstacle - if you've got it - and he's got it as both soloist and ensemble rock - it stays with you. Likewise Steve Little, at 91, by comparison, is barely out of short pants.
Combined with guitarist Lemerle and pianist/leader Chen the quartet swing in the most delightful way. Chen is a master of the locked hands, blocked chord technique fashioned by George Shearing and Milt Buckner, Lemerle digs in like Carl Kress and the end product is somewhere between late 1930s' swing and early 1940s' bebop without being a clone of either.
On top of the musical gems that abound, there's separate interviews with the two senior citizens who speak of their time spent with a variety of bands including Charlie Barnet, Duke Ellington, Marian McPartland, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan and many more.
However, I must apologise as to describe it as 'a must' is to sell it short. Lance
Laverne Walk; You Turned the Tables on me; Dream Dancing; Squatty Roo; On the Alamo; You Send me: Ellington Medley: Prelude to a Kiss/I Got it Bad (and That Ain't Good)/Sophisticated Lady; Yours is my Heart Alone; Poor Butterfly; Interview with Steve Little; Interview with Bill Crow.
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