Jack Sheldon's "Crescendo Blues" is a relaxed 12-bar blues in B-flat at approximately 120 BPM, featuring a different personnel lineup than the album's other tracks. This session pairs Frank Morgan with trumpeter Jack Sheldon, tenor saxophonist James Clay, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Jimmy Bond, and drummer Lawrence Marable. The track unfolds as an extended blowing session with five soloists taking turns over the unhurried blues changes. Morgan opens with three choruses on alto saxophone, his blues playing demonstrating a deep feeling for the idiom that goes beyond bebop formulas. Sheldon follows with three trumpet choruses, his lyrical and slightly irreverent style bringing a different personality to the blues. James Clay contributes three choruses on tenor saxophone, his Texas-bred tone and earthy phrasing adding a hard-blowing dimension. Bobby Timmons takes two piano choruses, his soulful, blues-drenched approach foreshadowing the funky hard bop style he would become famous for with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Jimmy Bond rounds out the solos with two choruses of walking bass, his acoustic bass solo providing a welcome change in texture and dynamic. The piece's leisurely pace and open-ended format capture the relaxed atmosphere of a Los Angeles jam session, with each musician staking out personal territory within the shared blues framework.
