AMG Review of Duets & Solos

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

The music of three Sackville LPs is reissued on full in this double-CD set, a 1979 solo session by pianist Sammy Price and a pair of duet albums with trumpeter Doc Cheatham from 1976 and 1979. Cheatham, who was 71 at the time of the earlier date, was just beginning to emerge as a major soloist and in fact is in much more confident form on the later set where he makes many dramatic statements than on the first session. Price, who was three years younger than Doc, shows throughout the twofer that he was much more than a blues and boogie-woogie specialist. The music mostly consists of veteran standards from the 1920s and '30s and even the most familiar songs sound fresh in this sparse setting.