Subtitled “The Best of The Mighty Burner”, this three-disc set gives a good account of the popular Hammond-organist's work during the final three years of his busy life. He was found dead in December 1999, apparently of a heart attack, in his Kansas City hotel room after a gig, having thus grooved virtually right to the end. Never claiming to be the deepest of solo thinkers, the larger-than-life Charles Earland was a gentle giant, a reliable crowd pleaser who knew how to swing a band and generate excitement in any nightclub. Selected from eight albums on the Savant or HighNote labels, mainly recorded at the ubiquitous Rudy Van Gelder's pad in Englewood Cliffs, we find him steaming the kinks out of popular jazz standards like ‘Blowin‘ The Blues Away’, ‘Sister Sadie’, ‘Sugar’, ‘Milestones’, ‘Dolphin Dance’ and ‘Mercy Mercy’. He also borrowed soul classics (‘Mr Magic’, ‘I’m Walkin”) and even outright pop (‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’), but it always came out funky. Most tracks feature his regular working band, which included trumpeter Jim Rotondi, tenorman Eric Alexander and the splendidly named drummer Greg Rockingham, but there are also guest appearances by Irene Reid – no singer swung a blues line more solidly than this lady – tenorist Carlos Garnett, flautist Najee and that funktastic drummer Bernard Purdie. A generous bandleader, Earland often saved his own solo for last, making sure that everyone was having as much fun as he was. Warmly recommended.