We wrote recently here about Burrell's current form. A veteran now and largely subsumed into jazz education, he can certainly still play. Here, over these two CDs, we can gauge just how good he was in his performing heyday. Blue LightsVolume One, the first of the two Blue Note albums under this name collated here, opens with a fast-moving version of ‘Phinupi’ a Burrell original, the unjustly-neglected Smith crackling over Blakey's bombast, Burrell's command and facility outstanding, Cook impressive. The unfortunate Brooks is heard first on ‘Yes Baby’, a laidback blues, quite soulful, less urgent than Cook, the Brown-inclined Smith in soaring form, his pristine tone and piercing attack a standout, Cook follows, broader in sound than Brooks. Jordan is always inventive, too. Happily, the soloists are identified, the two tenors differentiated and the various pianists clarified, making this reviewer's lot a happier one. With nine long tracks from Blue Lights Vols 1 and 2 spread over this double-CD and the addition of a third Blue Note album, On View at The Five Spot Café, here is the evidence of Burrell's prowess and a rather splendid introduction to a number of lesser known Blue Note artists. Neither Smith nor Brooks attained much in the way of later fame; the former went into education, the latter drifted into narcotics-induced oblivion following his Blue Note period. A great way to get to know Burrell and a number of his companions of the time. Brilliant music.