Having spent his early years scratching a living around the Big Apple with either local latin bands or supplying a booting tenor sax behind R&B hit makers including Charles Brown, Joe Morris and Amos Milburn, young Tina (Harold Floyd) Brooks was brought to the attention of Blue Note by Howard McGhee where he suddenly found himself contributing to sessions by Jimmy Smith (The Sermon), Kenny Burrell (Live At The Five Spot), Freddie Hubbard (Open Sesame), Freddie Redd (Shades Of Redd) and Jackie McLean (Jackie's Bag). Tragically, Brooks' playing career was terminated in 1961 before it achieved lift-off. True Blue proved to be the only album Blue Note ever released in his short, narcotic damaged lifetime. Not only was Brooks an original talent who Art Blakey once shortlisted as a potential Jazz Messenger, but a fine tunesmith (‘Miss Hazel’, ‘Good Old Soul’, ‘True Blue’ etc). If, like many, you have a fondness for the understated approach of the great Hank Mobley, then Tina Brooks is most definitely your man. But he's not a one-man show as all four supporting units serve him to the max… and beyond.