Shirley Scott - Trio Classics, Vol. 1 (1958/2004)

ecorded for Prestige in May 1958 Tracks 1 to 8 originally released as "Great Scot!" (Prestige 7143). Tracks 9 to 16 originally released as "Shirley's Sounds" (Prestige 7195)
Although the title gets you geared for a compilation, in fact all 16 of the tracks on this CD came from a single session on May 23, 1958. It was Scott's first session as a leader, in fact, yielding her two albums Great Scott! and Shirley's Sounds, and everything from those two LPs is on this single-disc reissue. Recorded with the rhythm section of George Duvivier on bass (except for "Bye Bye Blackbird," where George Tucker plays the instrument) and Arthur Edgehill on drums, it's sleek, swinging stuff that might not be as well known as Jimmy Smith's early work, but was similarly important in establishing the format and popularity of organ jazz. Scott is a virtuoso here, adept at spinning off speedy riffs, quickly gliding to exclamatory notes, and making the instrument swirl and swell, but never at the expense of a soulful feel. The shortage of original material is a bit disappointing, with just one track ("The Scott") composed by Scott, the rest being covers, often of standards such as "Summertime," "Bye Bye Blackbird," and "All of You." Despite that imbalance, it's a good mixture, at times bopping along frenetically ("[Back Home Again In] Indiana"), at others adopting a bluesy walk ("I Can't See for Lookin'") or a Latin lilt ("Brazil"), and also mellowing down into some slow ballads.
Richie Unterberger /TiVo