Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis & Shirley Scott - Moodsville, Volume 4

Moodsville, Volume 4 finds tenor titan Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis swapping his usual roar for after-hours tenderness, reissued here on 180-gram vinyl.

Moodsville was the Prestige offshoot devoted to ballads and late-night atmosphere, and this 1960 album is one of its quiet gems. Davis was best known for his hard-swinging organ combo records with Shirley Scott, so the twist here is a lovely one: Scott sits at the piano instead of her trademark Hammond, and the pair settle into a mood of low lights and slow smoke.

George Duvivier on bass and Arthur Edgehill on drums keep things understated, leaving plenty of space for Davis's breathy, burnished tone. Serenade In Blue opens the set with a sigh, What's New lets him stretch each phrase until it aches, and Smoke Gets In Your Eyes is handled with real tenderness.

Scott's piano will surprise anyone who knows her only from the organ, light and lyrical, with a bluesy feel tucked under every chord. Man With A Horn closes the record on a reflective, unhurried note that lingers long after the needle lifts.

This is music for quiet evenings and a good pair of speakers, and proof that one of jazz's toughest tenor players could whisper just as convincingly when the mood called for it.