Quintessential Lou

1	Progress Report 3:58
2	Clarence's Place 6:20
3	Mystified 4:45
4	Tenderly 9:33
5	Decision 6:55
6	Lion's Den 4:44
7	Alter Ego 5:21
8	That's the Thing 6:12
9	Our Quiet Place 5:21
10	Interlude 5:34

Barnes & Noble

Can a 62-year-old drummer be called a neoclassicist? Who cares? This is loud, sweaty jazz, the kind of music Louis Hayes used to play with Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderley in the late '50s and early '60s. This disc sounds so much like an old Jazz Messengers album you'll be looking for "recorded by Rudy Van Gelder" in the credits. Hayes kicks things off with "Progress Report," a charger featuring a torrid solo by tenor Abraham Burton and some nice cymbal work by the leader. "Clarence's Place," a piece of pure soul jazz by Freddie Hubbard, spotlights trumpeter Riley Mullins, a full-range player who's absorbed a lot of Lee Morgan and Dizzy Gillespie. Burton even has the chutzpah to reprise Eric Dolphy's unaccompanied "Tenderly," and he may just have pulled it off. Quintessential hard bop. Sal D'Agostino

All Music Guide

This veteran drummer served with the likes of Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderly, and Yusef Lateef, and the experience shows on this fine disc. His excellent drumming is at the center of a strong quintet, covering unusual tunes by Joe Zawinul, Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson, and others. The band's take on "Tenderly," with an extended sax intro by Abraham Burton, is particularly fine. Tim Sheridan