This album is an impressive display of Skitch Henderson’s outstanding talents. An air of freshness prevails in his constanty stimulating piano work, and the orchestra’s exuberance, tempered with skill, results in an attractive, well-balanced session. His featured singing star, this time, is Steve Lawrence, another cohort from the former NBC-TV ‘Tonight’ Show. More recently, Steve’s pleasing personality and persuasive singing style has graced leading night spots across the country, scored on numerous recordings for the CORAL, UNITED ARTISTS and ABC-PARAMOUNT labels and on top-rated television shows. Skitch starts off with a double treat, as Betty Cox joins Steve Lawrence in a musical confection, perfectly suited to their romantic singing styles.... I Love My Sugar. Just as quickly, the accent turns to a south-of-the-border beat as Skitch and the boys whirl down to Rio for their samba impressions of that famous mountain called Sugarloaf. Steve Lawrence comes on to demonstrate his versatility, next, by putting across the tuneful Western ballad, Whispering Sage. Then, the beat turns Latin again, as the orchestra plays two fiery samba choruses, separated by a sensuous tango interlude, that comprise the colorful and sultry spectacle labeled Spitfire. The side closes with the sparkling fox trot Strolling Silhouettes, an up-to-date musical interpretation that suggests some of the old vaudeville behind-the-curtain dancing acts that always caught an audience’s fancy. The flip side begins with Doc’s Blues, an original entry by Carl ‘Doc’ Severinsen, a young man with a horn in the Henderson band, whose trumpet work is crisp, beautifully phrased and developed with a disarmingly casual ease. Then, the rhythm starts rocking as Steve Lawrence returns to tell what happened Early One Morning. Soft Shoe Fantasy, which follows, again brings back the grand and glorious days of vaudeville in a playful and whimsical melody, full of nostalgic echoes belonging to all the “hoofers” who have trod the boards. In Rock Bottom, up next, the Henderson crew lives up to the old adage, “dig we must,” in a high-powered, irresistible, free-swinging selection. For a sign-off, Skitch and the boys provide a scintillating bolero background for Steve Lawrence’s melodic and sincere adios... Goodbye Dear.