AMG Review of Come Play With Me

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

Charles McPherson, who will always be best known for his roots in Charlie Parker's style and his period with Charles Mingus, proves on this CD to still be in his musical prime decades later. Although he had rarely played with any of the sidemen heard on his Arabesque release before, the quartet presents a unified sound, as if they were a regularly working group. McPherson performs three veteran standards and six originals, with most of the latter being closely related to the blues; "Pretty Girl Blues" sounds like a mixture of a couple of Bird lines and "Fun House" is based on "Limehouse Blues," while the best of the new compositions is the hard bop boogaloo "Marionette." But no matter what the vehicle, McPherson is in top form throughout this fine date and he sounds clearly inspired by the presence of pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Santi Debriano, and drummer Lewis Nash.