In another life, one of this reviewer's many occupations was that of resident compère at Jeff Kruger's Jazz at the Flamingo at 33 Wardour Street in Soho (now a betting shop) from 1952 to 1960. This 1961 album consists mainly of Kruger-owned masters or published original material leased to labels including Tempo, Decca and Parlophone, or on his own Ember Records. The bands concerned are a Crombie-led Flamingo All Stars, the London Jazz Quartet (with Hayes and Branscombe), Eddie Thompson's Trio, Tommy Whittle's Quintet (with Harry Klein), Derek Smith's Trio and “The Serpent” from The Jazz Couriers’ Dominion Theatre concert plus four bonus tracks by The British Jazz Trio and two alternates from the WhittleKlein sessions. There's one major omission: nothing by long-term resident leader Tony Kinsey's groups. It should also be pointed out that, as far as I can remember, neither the London Jazz Quartet as such or British Jazz Trio ever worked there. Nevertheless, it's an interesting overview of the UK club scene music in the 1950s, with a consistently high standard of musicianship throughout. The Couriers’ title especially and the Whittle tracks are probably those that have best stood the test of time. Other notable standouts are solos by the highly underrated Branscombe's alto, Klein's totally distinctive baritone sound and phrasing (especially on ‘Let's Call the Whole Thing Off’ with the effervescent Derek Smith, before he emigrated to the States) and the undeniably talented blind pianist Eddie Thompson. The least representative track? The echo-laden Crombie Orchestra and a film score theme called ‘Interpol Chase’. JATF was never in the same creative league as Scott's, but it still played a major role in UK jazz history and I was proud to have been involved.