****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
These reissues of Xanadu's catalog on Elemental Music are all universally top shelf jazz. By the 70s, post bop and bebop were old hat, relegated to clubs, recording sessions few and far between. It turns out, Xanadu was a strong keeper of the flame, in no small part due to the instincts, effort and pocket book of Don Schlitten. There are 23 releases covering 25 lps, in this reissue campaign, they're all legit 4-5 star rated gems. This Kenny Drew date no exception, It seems Schlitten would take names that should have been better regarded to begin with, got them together with complimentary personalities and gave them a fair bit of artistic freedom, encouraging their best instincts. This seems to have been a winning formula and the proof is in these remastered editions.