Vets and young guns bond over the liaison between swing and bop.

Crash boom bang. Here they go, hands in the dishwater,  rush hour in the kitchen, splashing soapy water everywhere, scrubbing fat from a skillet, clanging forks in a bucket, merrily, but business-like, talking shop paced with a rhythm simultaneous to the beat of their work. That’s trombonist Al Grey, tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell, trumpeter Lee Morgan, baritone saxophonist Billy Root, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul West and drummer Charlie Persip, thriving on a great riff called Dishwater, ten-minute swinger and the opener to a curious and exciting album on Specialty, otherwise known as a label specializing in rhythm ‘n’ blues, rock ‘n’ roll, notably Little Richard and Lloyd Price, not to mention a roster of gospel artists.

At the time, these guys were part of Dizzy Gillespie’s bop orchestra, hence Dizzy Atmosphere, a Gillespie warhorse that actually is not featured here. Interestingly, Dishwater and other tunes remind of Count Basie while walking the path that men and women carved from swing and bop. Note that Al Grey and Billy Mitchell joined Basie soon after this recording, and, lest we forget, would co-lead a prolific recording and live band in the early 1960’s.

Note also that five out of eight tunes were written and arranged by Roger Spotts, elusive composer and arranger who worked with Gillespie, Basie, Ray Charles and Lionel Hampton.

Lee Morgan was barely 18 years old at the time, eager young lion, and he acquits himself very well, blowing hot stuff on Dishwater and leading the melody of Benny Golson’s classic Whisper Not with full-bodied, sweet-toned trumpet, soloing crisply with the Harmon mute. If I may be allowed to go into detail, Benny Golson wrote Whisper Not while he was in Dizzy’s band and this February take is an early version. It was recorded initially by Lee Morgan in December 1956, featured on Lee Morgan Sextet, then on January 7, 1957 for Thad Jones’s Mad Thad album and, later on, on Golson’s own The New York Scene in October of the same year. Of course, it would become a staple of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers when Golson’d joined forces with Lee Morgan in 1958.

All soloists are solid and lively on this album’s set of blues and ballads, not least Al Grey, veteran of the bands of Benny Carter, Jimmy Lunceford, Lionel Hampton and a specialist of the old-fashioned plunger style. He’s got that fat and filthy sound and gives Dizzy Atmosphere its attractive old-timey feeling, while, make no mistake, running through fast-paced changes seemingly effortlessly and on fire.

Dizzy Atmosphere is usually shelved under Lee Morgan, most famous and collectible cat in this roster, but Al Grey and Billy Mitchell are pictured on the sleeve, so it’s only reasonable to call this Al Grey/Billy Mitchell’s Dizzy Atmosphere. At any rate, it’s an excellent, carefully produced blowing session.