Product Description HIP JAZZ BOP - Wealth Is Overrated: Jazz Essentials By Jazz Greats by Various Artists Amazon.com The folks at Hip Jazz-Bop invite you, in their wry liner copy, "to listen and feel your need for wealth replaced by a desire to unlace your shoes." Everything about this relaxed compilation of bop and post-bop from Black Lion's vaults fits right into the plan. Lee Konitz's tongue-in-cheek "Bop Goes the Leesel," and Count Basie's "Ingin' the Ooh" emphasize the lighter side of jazz, as does Duke Ellington's "Taffy Twist," Mal Waldron's playful "Mean to Me," and Zoot Sims-Bob Brookmeyer's bouncy "Whooee." Things get a little more serious with Randy Weston's sophisticated funk on "Berkshire Blues" and Thelonious Monk's lengthy soliloquy on "I Mean You," but the music still retains a feel of relaxed authority. Kenny Dorham's "West 42nd Street," featuring the uncredited tenor sax of Rocky Boyd (these CDs are short on credits), and Freddie Hubbard's "Apothegm" also percolate along at a nice midtempo groove. If your idea of wealth includes the appreciation of authentic "classic" jazz, then this CD should quickly be added to your portfolio. --Wally Shoup