It goes without saying that virtually every altoist in the late-1940s and 50s was infl uenced to some extent by Charlie Parker. Obviously, not all of them went on to have successful careers. But for every Sonny Stitt, Sonny Criss and Jackie McLean, there were the ones who, for whatever reason, didn't make it. Ernie Henry was a sadly typical example, dying aged only 31. There were others who came to New York, made a few record dates, then disappeared back into obscurity. Three of these who come to mind are John Jenkins and two guys who appeared on early Lee Morgan Blue Notes, but were seldom heard of again – Clarence Sharpe and Kenny Rogers. And then there was Sylvester Kyner, better known as Sonny Red from Detroit. A very fine player and highly regarded by his fellow musicians, Sonny eventually developed a style that was influenced both by Bird and his disciple, McLean. He had a joyous optimistic sound. His solos, steeped in the blues tradition, had a facile liveliness and lyricism that made him stand out from the crowd. He first impressed on some Ozzie Cadenaproduced Savoys before moving on to Blue Note and then to Riverside's offshoot, Jazzland, on which label the four albums contained on this excellent value Fresh Sound double CD were recorded. Breezin' was basically a quartet date, with fellow Motor City musicians Blue Mitchell and Yusef Lateef added, including five ‘I Got Rhythm’ variations 12-bar Red originals and three well-chosen standards. His second Jazzland date was a co-led session with Chicagoan tenorman Clifford Jordan and which got him quite a bit of attention and encouraging reviews. CD2 shows a remarkable maturity in the few months between dates and is the one I think, like me, you'll play repeatedly. The Mode and Images albums were made up from three different sessions between May and December 61 with Barry Harris, the great Detroiter, again the main pianist, Blue Mitchell in sparkling form returning for three tracks and guitarist Grant Green for five. Yet another Detroit homeboy, George Tucker is the rock-solid, singing, consistently driving bassist on almost all the tracks on both CDs with Miles' Jimmy Cobb especially giving him swinging support. Highlights here are ‘I Like The Likes of You’, ‘Moon River’, the title tunes of both albums and a gorgeous little-known Julie Styne ballad ‘Never Never Land’, plus lots more great ‘Rhythm’ variations and blues. Sonny made some excellent records with Donald Byrd later in the 1960s and a final leader date in 1971 for Mainstream Records with Cedar Walton. After that, very little is known. So make the most of what we have here on Fresh Sound. Thoroughly enjoyable. They don't make 'em like this any more.