Living up to Jazz Images' reputation for beautifully produced and illustrated reissues, this set rather oddly combines lovely atmospheric photographs taken by Blue Note's Francis Wolff with music recorded for his commercial rival Norman Granz (and originally out on Clef, Norgran and Verve). By making this a 2CD set, it misses the opportunity to collect Bud's solo and trio output from 1949-55 in a complete chronological sequence, following his label hopping and giving us a clear sense of development. Yet it does effectively track his best early work for Granz, and one good thing about the last few years is that, owing to diligent discographical research, we can now date these sessions far more accurately than I was able to for Bud's biography some 26 years ago! All the sessions are fine examples of Powell at a time when alcohol, drugs and mental illness had not completely compromised his playing, and though there are some fine pieces of work from his later years in Paris (notably the Blue Note sessions with Dexter Gordon) these predominantly early 1950s sides are remarkably consistent. The remastering is generally fine, though the 1955 Piano Interpretations session is no less muddy that it originally was. I've always had a soft spot for the 1956 Blues in the Closet LP with Ray Brown (taking time off from Oscar Peterson) and Osie Johnson, and this is very well transferred, with the entire album in session order. The highlights here (as the album title hints) are the two Oscar Pettiford compositions in the set and it's a genuine pleasure to hear how Brown gels with Powell to bring ‘Blues In The Closet’ and ‘Swinging Til The Girls Come Home’ to life in a way that still sounds as fresh and exciting as when the pieces were recorded. Powell even outdoes Oscar and Jarrett on the ‘grunting along with his playing’ front. Equally Johnson is the ideal drummer – not as aggressive as Roach and Taylor, nor as unsuitable as Rich, but perfectly supportive, just as Kenny Clarke was to be in the Paris years. And listening again to these tracks, Bud's speed and dexterity on what must be one of the fastest versions of ‘I Know That You Know’ is still jaw-dropping. So, if you have no Powell from the period, this is a great set to get, but let's hope for a sequel that, by matching this level of presentation, does a better job of reissuing the Blue Note material than that label's own rather piecemeal approach.