"Toy" is the opening track of Clifford Jordan's 1960 album Spellbound, recorded for Riverside Records. This Jordan original in B-flat features the tenor saxophonist delivering three inventive choruses over a 28-bar ABCD form at a brisk swing tempo, his warm, full-bodied sound and rhythmically assured phrasing establishing the album's hard bop character from the outset. Pianist Cedar Walton, in one of his earliest significant recording appearances, contributes two choruses that reveal the budding sophistication of a musician who would become one of jazz's most respected accompanists and composers. The quartet format, with Spanky DeBrest on bass and Albert "Tootie" Heath on drums, gives both soloists ample space to stretch out. Jordan's composition demonstrates his gift for writing memorable, swinging themes with unusual structural characteristics, the 28-bar ABCD form providing a less predictable framework than the standard 32-bar song form. Spellbound was an important early document of Jordan's capabilities as both a leader and a composer, showcasing a musician whose deep, smoky tenor sound and thoughtful improvisational approach deserved wider recognition.
