Hard to believe that this is the first CD release for a milestone of British jazz. The bulk of it was recorded live at the 1959 Newport jazz festival, where Dankworth instantly established himself as a world figure. His innovative writing and the band's spirited performance still sound wonderfully fresh, partly because no one else ever quite managed his mercurial lightness of touch. Also included are extracts from his score to Joseph Losey's 1960 film The Criminal, marking the start of his evolution from young "Johnny" to revered "Sir John".