by Richie Unterberger
Blue Spoon was one of Witherspoon's jazzier sessions, still retaining his characteristic jazz-blues blend, but lighter on the soul, pop, and shouting R&B elements of some of his other releases. The jazzy flavor was guaranteed by his backup quartet of Kenny Burrell on guitar, Eddie Kahn on bass, Gildo Mahones on piano, and Roy Haynes on drums. Dominated by ballads, it's on the mellow side, with a pleasant yet unadventurous selection of covers. These include Cecil Gant's &I Wonder,& &Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out,& &It's All in the Game,& and &Baby Please Don't Go& (here retitled &Back to New Orleans,& with the writing credits given to Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry). Kenny Burrell contributed one composition, &Blues in the Morning.& The album was combined with a quite different 1965 session, Spoon in London, on a 2001 single-CD reissue.