Brief Encounter

by Scott YanowEddie Daniels splits his time almost equally on this underrated LP between tenor, flute and clarinet. Joined by keyboardist Andy Laverne, bassist Rick Laird and drummer Billy Mintz, Daniels is in consistently creative form on the six selections with highlights include his clarinet on the uptempo "There Is No Greater Love" and his work on four overdubbed flutes (one of which is a bass flute) for a haunting rendition of "A Child Is Born." It seems strange that it would still be another eight years before Eddie Daniels gained recognition as a masterful improviser and technician for in 1977 he was already pretty much there. Recommended.