Personnel: Illinois Jacquet, Frank Foster (tenor saxophone); Cecil Payne (baritone saxophone); Joe Newman, Ernie Royal, Russell Jacquet (trumpet); Matthew Gee (trombone); Milt Buckner (piano, organ); Wally Richardson (guitar); Al Lucas (bass); Al Foster (drums).Recorded in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, March 25, 1969. Originally released on Prestige (7629). Includes original liner notes by Ed Williams. Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (1991, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).Personnel: Illinois Jacquet (tenor saxophone); Wally Richardson (guitar); Frank Foster (tenor saxophone); Cecil Payne (baritone saxophone, brass); Ernie Royal, Joe Newman , Russell Jacquet (trumpet); Matthew Gee (trombone); Milt Buckner (piano, organ); Al Lucas (acoustic bass, electric bass); Al Foster (drums).Liner Note Author: Eddie Williams .Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (03/25/1969).Unknown Contributor Roles: Ernie Royal; Frank Foster ; Joe Newman ; Al Foster; Al Lucas; Matthew Gee; Milt Buckner; Russell Jacquet; Wally Richardson; Cecil Payne. Arrangers: Jimmy Mundy; Milt Buckner.The great tenor Illinois Jacquet is joined by a ten-piece group that includes trumpeter Joe Newman and Milt Buckner on piano and organ for this 1969 Prestige studio session which has been reissued on CD by the OJC series. Jacquet is in prime form, particularly on "The Soul Explosion" (which benefits from a Jimmy Mundy arrangement), a definitive "After Hours" and a previously unissued version of "Still King." This blues-based set is full of soul but often swings quite hard with the focus on Jacquet's exciting tenor throughout.
1) The Soul Explosion
2) After Hours
3) St. Louis Blues
4) I'm a Fool to Want You
5) The Eighteenth Hole
6) Still King