Philly Joe Jones Octet

* 2022 stock * Recorded at the Studio Jazz Unité in Paris, France, on June 19, 1981, Filet de Sole / Philly of Soul was the only recording made by brilliant drummer Philly Joe Jones with this exact octet formation.

The group plays a variety of tunes, including well-known pieces by Tadd Dameron, Benny Golson, Randy Weston, and the tandem of John Lewis & Dizzy Gillespie, plus an homage to Tadd Dameron composed by the group's tenor saxophonist Charles Davis (a regular with Archie Shepp and Sun Ra), and a composition by Philly Joe Jones himself, "Trailway Express", which he only recorded on one more occasion in 1968.

The trumpet seat is covered by French veteran Roger Guérin, who began his professional career in 1947 and recorded with such stars Django Reinhardt, Don Byas, Hubert Fol, James Moody, Benny Golson, Martial Solal, and Michel Legrand, among others. American bassist Wilbur Little, who worked with Sir Charles Thompson, J.J. Johnson, and Tommy Flanagan, was by that time living in Europe.

Philly Joe Jones would unexpectedly die a few years after making this album, on August 30. 1985, at the age of 62.