Gene Ammons may have been one of Prestige Records’ cash cows – responsible for shifting shed loads of albums, but in the final reckoning he wasn't always best served by the label. Could be that this was a combination of Prestige's pennypinching attitude and Ammons own self-destructive lifestyle. Fact: often when it came to an Ammons record date (and they were numerous), it appears that the proceedings were taped by the yard to where the average 12-inch LP comprised just three or four tracks. Nevertheless, this fine tenor sax man retained a loyal following for his no-nonsense approach. At the height of his popularity he had a bulging browser bin to rival most artists. And this pulls together the self-explanatory Jammin’ With Gene, Jammin’ In Hi-Fi, Funky and a trio of tracks from The Happy Blues. The All-Stars comprised a number of Prestige's sharp shooters – and like Ammons both Jackie McLean and Mal Waldron were battling hard drugs dependency. Ironically, it's McLean who proves to be the most provocative player. That's not to infer that Byrd, Farmer or Sulieman don't measure up, just that McLean seizes the day.