The 1986 Floating Jazz Festival

This CD is a bit of a collector's item, a variety of interesting performances recorded during the S.S. Norway's Fourth Annual Jazz Cruise. The oddest selection is a long trumpet-drums duet by Dizzy Gillespie and Buddy Rich that is only partially successful. In addition to Joe Williams singing "I Want a Little Girl" with a big band and vibraphonist Gary Burton jamming with the Berklee Ensemble, such notables as Kenny Davern and Bob Wilber (who have a Soprano Summit reunion on "Moonglow"), violinist Svend Asmussen, pianist Mel Powell, flugelhornist Clark Terry, trumpeter Warren Vache (jamming some Dixieland on "Jazz Me Blues") and (on "Flying Home") the tenors of Flip Phillips, Al Cohn, Buddy Tate and Scott Hamilton are heard from. Although a bit erratic, this CD has enough special moments to justify its acquisition.