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Canadian bassist Dave Young is joined by the revered pianist Cedar Walton and rhythm master Barry Elmes on drums on his seventh CD as a leader. Tale of the Fingers contains some of the best songs from the Great American Songbook as well as several great originals. Gems such as "Sweet and Lovely" and "Just in Time" form a great program of ballads and swing. Young's harmonic simpatico and unerring sense of time on the bebop classic by Paul Chambers, "Tale of the Fingers," and "Sweet and Lovely" feature resonant, relaxed bowing while his pizzicato chops on the bluesy stroll "Down the Middle" are impressive on the crowd-pleasing basslines. Young wrote three original compositions for this CD -- "Down the Middle," "The Night Is Long," and "Ode to the Southwest" -- while Cedar Walton contributed two songs. "A Bell for Bags," a tribute to the vibraphonist Milt Jackson, is a flawless gift of rhythmic compliments from Young and ElmesCedar. Overall, the material selected for this CD is played by the trio with great agility, technique, and gorgeous tones, and together they achieve their objective: to be obsessed with the "groove."

-Paula Edelstein