JOHN GORDON Vinyl & CDs

Review: Although he was a member of countless well-regarded bands, jazz trombonist John Gordon found solo success much hard to come by. He only ever released two solo albums - both at the tail end of the 1970s - on Strata-East, with "Step By Step", his '76 debut, arguably being the pick of the pair. Here it gets the reissue treatment for the first time since 1990. There's plenty to set the pulse racing throughout, from the hypnotic grooves-and-horns of epic opener "Step By Step" and wild lead lines of sparkling workout "Dance of the Ymas", to the smoky, early morning goodness "Making Memories" and the hard-bop influenced "Activity", which features some virtuoso playing from both Gordon and saxophonist Roland Alexander.