Harold Mabern applies his seasoned sophistication to a set of tunes associated with Sammy Davis Jr. The obvious choices are there – ‘As Long As She Needs Me’, now an up-tempo bossa; ‘Something's Got to Give’ an Erroll Garnerish swinger – but there are some oddities to. ‘The People Tree’ is a too-jaunty opener, ‘Mr Lucky’ a solid mid-tempo groover and Joe Farnsworth's brush strokes on ‘Soft Shoe Trainin’ With Sammy’ swish insidiously. Mabern's comping and lines are consistently inventive, Joe Farnsworth and John Webber on bass and drums are always swinging. And tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander is his usual solid self, following the contours of each song with purpose. But, somewhat lacking in Sammy Davis’ showbiz swagger, it all comes across as a bit routine. None of these songs made it into the jazz repertoire, and without Davis’ on-stage personality to fill them, sound average, even when so neatly rearranged as on this CD. The exception is Mabern's beautiful balladry on ‘What Kind of Fool Am I’. Otherwise, they needed a few over-the-top flourishes to stand out.