The artistic leap from Rusty Bryant’s first album, 1956’s America’s Greatest Jazz, to his second, 1958’s Rusty Bryant Plays Jazz, is startling. Considering that America’s Greatest Jazz was a compilation of Rusty’s earlier Dot singles puts it in context, though. The August 1957 sessions that comprise Rusty Bryant Plays Jazz are his first true artistic statement. Or, as Rusty himself put it, “This is the music I’ve always wanted to play.” His first release without The Carolyn C
