The Three Sounds – It Just Got To Be (1963)

The material that comprises It Just Got to Be was recorded during the same sessions as Here We Come, and like that album, this record has its share of romantic standards, including "Stella By Starlight" and "The Nearness of You." It Just Got to Be also captures the Three Sounds in the mood to stretch out and improvise a little (ironically, two of the three original compositions are the shortest songs on the album). The performances throughout the record are predictably swinging and enjoyable, even if they find the trio taking no stylistic chances. That lack of adventure doesn't matter, though -- the Three Sounds excel at making unpretentious, unabashedly enjoyable mainstream jazz, and there's something endearing about their ability to produce a body of work of consistently high quality.~Stephen Thomas Erlewine