Fresh Sound ***

Tony Fruscella, who died in 1969, embodies the cliché of the gifted young trumpeter prematurely silenced. His veiled, haunting sound survives on a handful of recordings, giving this never previously issued mid-1950s date particular resonance. An easygoing studio session with one of the great Lester Young tenor disciples, Brew Moore, it failed to produce enough for an album; the programme, almost all blues, is fleshed out with six alternate takes as a result. Moore is in prime form and, despite the casual setting, Fruscella also delivers one of his best recorded performances. Never a

showy player, he sticks mostly to the middle and lower registers, with melodic, well-constructed, spare solos devoid of rhetorical flourish and full of individuality and presence. Two bonus tracks feature him with a Stan Getz quintet in this fascinating snapshot of a doomed soul. see freshsoundrecords.com