Primarily a free blowing quartet session (disc one) it’s with the arrival of Eldridge and Hodges (disc two) that things really move up a gear. For years fans on both sides of the Atlantic have constantly dined out as a result of being fortunate enough to catch The Bean and Little Jazz together. Lucky New Yorkers who were at The Village Gate in August 1962 get second helpings if they were in attendance that evening when The Rabbit unpacked his alto sax and the three horns stretched out on familiar material including ‘Satin Doll’ and ‘Perdido’. If that wasn’t good enough, the great Tommy Flanagan powered the rhythm section. So it’s three bars across-Jackpot! Hawkins and Eldridge played together so often they could second-guess in which direction that music was heading. And having reviewed a number of their recorded encounters in the pages of Jazzwise, this captures Hawkins at his majestic best, most notably on quartet performances ‘Mack The Knife’ and ‘It’s The Talk Of The Town.’