by Scott Yanow
Thirty-three at the time of this, his first recording as a leader, pianist Red Garland already had his distinctive style fully formed and had been with the Miles Davis Quintet for a year. With the assistance of bassist Paul Chambers (also in Davis's group) and drummer Art Taylor, Garland is in superior form on six standards, Charlie Parker's &Constellation& (during which he shows that he could sound relaxed at the fastest tempos) and his own &Blue Red.& Red Garland recorded frequently during the 1956-62 period and virtually all of his trio recordings are consistently enjoyable, this one being no exception.