It never ceases to amaze what previously unheard recordings suddenly pop up. Take this pair of Station WABC Portraits In Jazz broadcasts which predate this lineup's must-have Smokin' At The Half Note taped by the same personnel (except for Carter and Ridley subbing for Paul Chambers). These half-hour broadcasts are presented replete with announcements thereby giving the proceedings a sense of immediacy. The CD opens with Coltrane's ‘Impressions’ during which Wes runs through his entire bag of tricks with the kind of ease that one has come to expect. An unaccompanied ‘Mi Cosa’ follows before a further nine selections that take in three variations of the blues, a couple more originals (‘Cariba’ and ‘Four On Six’) a look at Dizzy's ‘Birk's Works’ and a trio of standards of which ‘Laura’ is the highlight, are done and dusted. While Wes is in command of a truly remarkable technique he never grandstands or allows things to get out of control, even when during ‘Four On Six’ he offers up complex runs that other guitarists can only aspire to but seldom manage to replicate. The only drawback is that on some performances Wynton Kelly's is under-recorded, apart from that it's Wes close to his best.