Al Haig Trio (Esoteric)

Al Haig Trio (Esoteric)

Al Haig Trio is a 1954 jazz album released by Al Haig on the Esoteric records label; in later rereleases it is therefore often known as Esoteric or The Al Haig Trio Esoteric.

The album is notable as being one of three that Haig released as leader in 1954, the final year of his first period of success. There followed some twenty years of obscurity, broken in the later 1970s, when he was finally recognised as an important pioneer of bop, and began to be recorded again.

This album contains thirteen sides, the only surprising choice being "Royal Garden Blues", a Dixieland number. The repertoire may be unadventurous, but the playing is top class. Though this (and Haig's other 1954 albums) was little noticed at the time, it has since been judged to be a highlight in the career of one of the key figures in the development of bop, being awarded a rare crown in Cook and Morton's The Penguin Guide to Jazz.