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One of the earliest and most gifted bop-influenced guitarists, Jimmy Raney was a fluid improviser with a subtle, persuasively swinging approach. His soft, quiet sound and gift for melodic statement belied his fiercely swinging attack. Raised in Chicago, he played locally with the Jerry Wald Orchestra before moving to New York and joining Woody Herman for an eight-month stint in 1948. In the next few years he worked with Al Haig, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, and Artie Shaw, though it was his classic sessions with Stan Getz (1951-53) that cemented his reputation as a leading modernist. Replacing Tal Farlow, he fit in easily to Red Norvo's advanced swing trio (1953-54) before recording frequently as a leader in the mid-'50s. From 1954 into the 1960s, however, he worked a supper club gig with pianist Jimmy Lyons, rarely playing jazz outside the studio. He joined forces with Getz again in the early '60s, but soon returned to Louisville and didn't surface again on the jazz scene for nearly a decade. He began playing and recording in New York in 1972 and slowly re-established himself. From the mid-'70s until his death, he toured and recorded regularly, often with his son, guitarist Doug Raney (born August 29, 1956), for a variety of independent labels including Xanadu, PA/USA, SteepleChase, and Criss Cross.

Accompanied by the great bop pianist Sonny Clark, brilliant bassist Red Mitchell, and drummer Bobby White, Raney displays his harmonic sophistication and gift for lyricism on a program of seven familiar standards. The CD also contains five alternate tracks, including two fascinating and quite different unissued takes of "Stella by Starlight." Other highlights are the two versions of "Body and Soul" and "There'll Never Be Another You."

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