The Rendell/Carr Quintet had already recorded Shades of Blue in October 1964, the band’s then pianist, Colin Purbrook, who would leave shortly after an It’s Jazz broadcast by the BBC, recorded on 4 February. At some point during the next eight weeks pianist Mike Garrick would join the band, and was in place for this BBC Jazz Club broadcast on 19 April.

Garrick, a ball of creative energy was both an accomplished pianist and composer, and was already making his presence felt with two of his compositions – ‘Trane’s Mood’ and ‘She’ll Be Back’ – and while the band had not entirely become reliant on originals at this time the Rodgers and Hart standard ‘I Could Write A Book’ was in the band’s playlist, but one suspects this was at the behest of the BBC who were, at the time, very wary presenting a set of original compositions.

The band were still keeping a watching brief on American jazz with originals such as ‘Garrison ’65’ and ‘Trace’s Mood’ but Garrick would later say that, “However enticing the prospect, we were not American and never would be,” and began turning to the homegrown product, “Playing one’s own things that actually became a precondition!”

Garrick’s energy and outgoing personality was yet to fully permeate the group as he bedded in, as here, but by the time of Dusk Fire from March 1966, the music and the personalities had gelled and so too a more ‘local’ repertoire of originals.