David Newman died just a month after the final album (The Blessing) included in this compilation of his decade of recordings for Joe Fields’ High Note label. He was a member of what has sadly become a dying breed of saxophonists who combined R&B, the blues and bebop with the ability to mix them all together and keep everyone happy. The blues was part of whatever he played and he was a master of making every note count. The ‘Fathead’ nickname dated back to his school days and later he was called ‘Brains’ by his most famous employer, Ray Charles, with whom he played for nearly 12 years and with whom he shared his drug habits. This was followed by a decade with Herbie Mann. Newman's High Note CDs proved remarkably commercial, almost all topping the US jazz charts, with the heartfelt spontaneous tribute to Charles (four cuts from which are included here) being voted album of the year. Of the 10 sessions in this set, David can be heard on alto, soprano, tenor and flute (his initial chair with Charles was for baritone) and his supporting groups are by trombone (Fuller, Turre and, on one rather over-echoed four horn session, veteran Benny Powell) or vibes (Nelson and the underrated Bryan Carrott) and rhythm. Of the pianists, John Hicks is on many of the tracks and his two-handed jabbing comping is very much front and centre thanks to Rudy Van Gelder's recorded sound. Cedar Walton, his old friend, is heard on two of the sessions, but the majority of the most recent feature Newman's last working group's section comprising pianist Leonhardt, bassist Menegon and drummer Yoron Israel. The 3-CD compilation is aptly titled and good value for money.