Connoisseurs will be intrigued to note the presence of bass maestro Oscar Pettiford on this reissue given the fact that he is not on the originalvinyl release. The explanation is that while he and Roach were awaiting the arrival of one Sonny Rollins for the landmark Freedom Suite, they thought they'd warm up with a duet, the result of which was then consigned to a vault to collect dust. Their take on ‘There Will Never Be Another You’ is an inspired one for the grace with which the two men play, and Roach in particular is strikingly inventive in his almost microscopic use of the sonic palette presented by the drum kit. The same holds for the complete session of Deeds, Not Words, which has the virtue of being bass heavy due to the presence of Ray Draper's tuba without being weighed down or sluggish, primarily because he negotiates the big instrument with warmth and agility. Stylistically, the music was right at the cutting edge of post-bop modernism with intricately mapped arrangements being the order of the day, but Roach brought in Afro-Latin rhythms on several tracks and his use of stinging rimshots vaguely evoked the timbale playing of his close friend Tito Puente. Although George Coleman and Booker Little emerge as brilliant soloists, Roach takes some standout improvisations where his concise, at times quite staccato line construction and dramatic swerves of attack betray his vision of the trap set as orchestra in its own right.