by Scott Yanow
Although a recording with Al Porcino's big band was titled The Final Performance, tenor saxophonist Al Cohn made two later recordings before his death in 1988. Keeper of the Flame, his next-to-last album, is a somewhat obscure set recorded in London with &the Jazz Seven.& Although none of the sidemen would qualify as household names, they are quite professional and fine bop players. Cohn, who is the main soloist, stretches out on four group originals, &Mood Indigo& and his own &High on You.& His tone had deepened through the years and Al Cohn is actually more distinctive on this recording than he had been in the 1950s.