Produced by the ubiquitous Orrin Keepnews, March of the Siamese Children was the second of two acoustic hard bop LPs that Frank Strozier recorded during his brief association with Jazzland in the early '60s. This quartet date from 1962 isn't quite as essential as the alto saxophonist's first Jazzland LP, Long Night; nonetheless, March of the Siamese Children is solid and pleasing, and Strozier is well served by a swinging rhythm section that includes Harold Mabern on piano, Bill Lee on bass, and Al Dreares on drums. To his credit, Strozier keeps things fairly unpredictable -- and he accomplishes this in various ways. First, the saxman goes for different moods; while Strozier is exuberant on Hey, Lee! and Lap, he is wistful and reflective on the title track and Lee's ballad Don't Follow the Crowd. Second, he makes some interesting choices when it comes to picking pre-rock pop songs to interpret; for example, the title track is hardly Rodgers Hammerstein's most famous composition. And third, he doesn't stick to the alto sax 100 percent of the time; two of the seven selections (the title song and his own Will I Forget?) show how appealing Strozier could be on the flute, which he played as a second instrument. Compared to some of the modal post-bop and avant-garde jazz that was coming out in the early '60s, March of the Siamese Children isn't radical or revolutionary -- Strozier, whose primary influences included Charlie Parker and pre-modal Jackie McLean, was never an innovator. Nonetheless, his late-'50s and early-'60s recordings were fairly fresh-sounding and advanced examples of hard bop, and this enjoyable LP points to the fact that Strozier was willing to take his share of chances. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi

1		March of the Siamese Children
2		Extension 27
3		Something I Dreamed Last Night
4		Don't Follow the Crowd
5		Our Waltz
6		Will I Forget?
7		Lap
8		Hey, Lee!

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