Jazz and recovery meet on two unique early-1960s albums made by guitarist Joe Pass and pianist Elmo Hope. Pass' 1961 Pacific Jazz LP “Sounds of Synanon" was his debut as a leader; although he'd begun to play professionally as a teenager in the late 1940s, stays in prison and rehabilitation centers for drug addiction had hampered his career throughout the 1950s. Hope's “Sounds From Riker's Island" featured an ensemble made up primarily of musicians who had struggled in one way or another with addiction; it included drummer Philly Jo Jones and tenor saxophonist John Gilmore (making one of his rare appearances away from Sun Ra's Arkestra). This program includes music from both albums, as well as Charlie Parker's “Relaxin' at Camarillo" and James Moody's “Last Train From Overbrook."
