by Scott Yanow
The second of two CDs featuring music recorded at the Lighthouse during a marathon session is the equal of the first. Greatly expanded from the original two-LP set, this disc has a pair of selections from the two-fer (&Sweet Mama& and &The Children, Save the Children&) and three performances (&I'm a Fool to Want You,& &Britt Piece,& and the 28-and-a-half-minute &Children's Merry-Go-Round&) that were previously unreleased at the time of this 1990 package. Dave Liebman (on tenor and soprano) is heard in one of his finest pre-Miles Davis recordings; the young tenor Steve Grossman keeps up with him, and bassist Gene Perla acts as a bridge between the fiery saxophonists and explosive drummer Elvin Jones. Exciting and adventurous music that stretches the boundaries of modal hard bop jazz.