Gene Ammons Plays Nat Cole - Night Lights (1970) [vinyl]

Surely one of the very best Ammons albums after his comeback, although he was undoubtedly one of the great exponents of soul jazz, I am thankful that this recording is bereft of that deadening back-beat and the turgid Hammond organ, a pure jazz ballad album - gorgeous pure Ammons! {Still has a dreadful 70s cover of course!]

AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow:
One of his first recording sessions after he returned to the scene following a rather severe jail sentence was this tribute to Nat King Cole. As it turned out, the quartet date with pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist George Duvivier and drummer Rudy Collins was quickly forgotten as Ammons recorded some more commercial material and this set was not released for the first time until 1985. Ammons is in excellent form on such ballads as "Nature Boy," "Lush Life," "Sweet Lorraine" and "The Christmas Song," making one wish that the contents of this LP were available on CD.

A1. Night Lights
A2. Nature Boy
A3. Calypso Blues
B1. Lush Life
B2. Sweet Lorraine
B3. The Christmas Song

Gene Ammons (tenor sax) Wynton Kelly (piano) George Duvivier (bass) Rudy Collins (drums) Pucho (congas -A3)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, February 2, 1970