Hammond turned the keyboard into his personal "singing" machine. Relying on a powerful rhythm section, he wailed loud and clear. Soul-jazz like this appealed to a wide audience. Still does. At the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, Hammond mesmerized with his 16-minute edition of "It's Too Late." Guest George Benson seems to be drawing his energy from Hammond. At one point, the organist enthuses like a wild man. The audience reaction matches ours. No wonder they were clapping on 2 and 4. Powerful percussion highlights from Billy Cobham and Airto drive the message home. It was a memorable night, and the added track simply increases the album's unquestioned value. Like most of the other CTI jazz treasures being reissued this year, Johnny Hammond's Breakout is a don't-miss affair.

Track listing: It's Too Late; Workin' On a Groovy Thing; Never Can Say Goodbye; Blues Selah; Breakout; It's Too Late.

Personnel: Johnny Hammond- organ; Hank Crawford- alto saxophone; Grover Washington, Jr.- tenor saxophone; Eric Gale- electric guitar; Billy Cobham- drums; Airto Moreira- percussion; Danny Moore- trumpet; Johnny Williams- electric bass; George Benson- guitar on final track; Freddie Hubbard- trumpet on final track; Stanley Turrentine- tenor saxophone on final track.

Style: Mainstream/Bop/Hard Bop/Cool
Published: April 12, 2002

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