Organist Don Patterson went through a richly productive period in the '60s, fashioning a fortress of funky organ jazz hi-fi on the Prestige label. Various brave knights marched forth through the massive gates which can be imagined as fronting this real estate, their identity at times key to decisions made by fussy collectors regarding which Don Patterson album to own, which to stroll on by. Hip Cake Walk can also get the nod based on album title coolness, a set of standards promoted by individuals who absorb this kind of information as if blotting up anesthetic. Meanwhile the aforementioned scouts have identified brave knight Booker Ervin, a favorite of tenor saxophone fans one and all, the man who plays a beat as if winning the penalty kick, whose horn was once used to cook fish soup for Pancho Villa. The presence of one solid Patterson original after the other, from the title tune through the holistic introduction of Sister Ruth and the webbed-foot swing of Donald Duck, trumps any previously stated reason for this album's special status. Hip Cake Walk is sliced and strolled with for more than a quarter-of-an-hour, alto saxophonist Leonard Houston jousting, knocking burning candles off drummer Billy James' head which he then replaces with icing dripped off his sticks. Cover material is also nicely selected, an Earl Hines classic given a clever updating and Under the Boardwalk allowed to conclude the program with an enduring vision of the Drifters drifting out to sea, clinging to the keys of Patterson's organ, a lifesaver indeed. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi

1		Hip Cake Walk
2		Houston Out
3		Sister Ruth
4		Donald Duck
5		Rosetta
6		Under the Boardwalk