Alto and tenor-saxophonist Newman is one of those musicians who has been unfairly pigeon-holed as more of a R&B player than an out-and-out jazz musician. Seeing him in the flesh in his latter years immediately disabused one of that impression and these four albums do the same as regards his work from 1958-1961. In the late 1950s he was a mainstay of the Ray Charles orchestra and the first session here presents a subset of that band (with Ray himself on piano) that puts Newman in the company of Hank Crawford (on baritone) and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave (playing at the peak of his form, especially on Crawford's ‘Weird Beard’). On The Sound of Wide Open Spaces, the second disc in the collection, Newman is teamed with fellow saxophonist and flautist James Clay, but the rhythm section is borrowed from Cannonball Adderley and takes everything up a notch artistically, especially on a measured but almost insouciant reading of ‘What's New?’ that showcases Wynton Kelly. The same pianist with Messrs Chambers and Persip teams up with Newman again on Straight Ahead, the highlight of the set. Here's a world-class rhythm section delighting in a player whose approach to originals and standards often takes unexpected turns, his tenor playing sometimes suggesting how Cannonball might have sounded on the larger horn, coupled with Rollins-like repeated motifs, and always providing a straightahead swing that keeps us aware of his blues roots. Fathead Comes On, the final original LP included here is something of a reversion to the style of the Ray Charles collaboration, with ‘Alto Sauce’ in particular harking back to his show-stopping playing on the Ray Charles at Newport album.