Arnett Cobb is one of the great strong men of the tenor sax. I got to see him several times back in the 1970's, and he never disappointed. After recording the fine series for Prestige (all worth checking out) he returned to Texas and was pretty much off the radar for the rest of the 60's and most of the 70's. When I first saw him it was as part of an all star band that Lionel Hampton put together for the Boston Globe Jazz Festival in 1977. Cobb came out for his feature "The Nearness of You" on crutches, the result of more than one ( I believe) automobile accident. While he may have been physically disabled, he played his ass off, and this tune was the highlight of the evening. I became an instant fan, and began to track down his Prestige albums, one by one, most of which were out of print.
The following year he was part of an all star band that played a full week at Sandy's in Beverly, MA - Arnett Cobb, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Buddy Tate, Ray Bryant, George Duvivier, and Alan Dawson. There was plenty of buzz about this gig around Boston, and I went opening night to a packed house. The music was divine! Muse Records recorded two nights later in the week, one of which I attended, which ultimately yielded six (!) fine LP's, two each under each of the saxophonists' names.
A few months later Arnett played a week at Lulu White's in Boston with a local rhythm section: Ray Santisi (piano), Whit Brown (bass), Alan Dawson (drums). Again, despite his physical frailties, his playing was strong and exciting.
Fortunately for us fans, he recorded regularly in his comeback years, with releases on Black & Blue, Progressive, and Beehive. As far as I know, only one CD has come out of the Sandy's sessions - "Arnett Cobb and the Muse All Stars Live at Sandy's" (Muse 5558), which contains all of one LP and three tunes from the second. The same disc may have also been issued on 32Jazz. Wouldn't this be a nice Mosaic Select - the complete Sandy's sessions?