Booker Ervin – Tex Book Tenor Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180g Vinyl
Booker Ervin cut two stellar Blue Note records as a leader in 1968 including Tex Book Tenor which had to wait nearly 40 years until 2005 for its first standalone release. With a sleek post-bop quintet featuring trumpeter Woody Shaw, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Jan Arnet, and drummer Billy Higgins, the Texas-born saxophonist slices through a set of compelling bandmember originals including Barron's sinuous tune "Gichi" and Shaw's lilting waltz "In a Capricornian Way," as well as Ervin's lovely ballad "Lynn's Tune" and the hard-swinging "Den Tex," named for his hometown of Denison.
Charlie Hunter – Bing Bing Bing! (Classic Vinyl Series) Blue Note 2 LP Vinyl
Charlie Hunter’s 1995 Blue Note debut Bing Bing Bing! was a groove-heavy tour-de-force that marked the arrival of a virtuosic guitarist whose unique concept on his 8-string guitar produced music that was both impressive and irrepressible. Hunter’s trio laid down a program of originals plus an unforgettable cover of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are.” This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.
Dizzy Reece – Star Bright Lp (Blue Note Classic Series) Blue Note Vinyl
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, the trumpeter Dizzy Reece moved to London at age 17 and began working across Europe, frequently in Paris, where he played with the likes of Don Byas and Kenny Clarke. Reece also made fans of Miles Davisand Sonny Rollins who spread the word about a hot new trumpeter on the European scene. So when Donald Byrd and Art Taylor came through Paris on tour in 1958 they sought out Reece and even found their way into the recording studio together for what would become Reece’s Blue Note debut Blues In Trinity.
Duke Pearson – The Right Touch LP (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) – Blue Note Vinyl
Perhaps the perfect starting point for a reappraisal of Duke Pearson’s underrated career is his fantastic and aptly titled 1967 album The Right Touch. The album stands as perhaps the finest in Pearson’s discography and is a showcase of his sublime talents as a pianist, composer, and arranger. The Right Touch is comprised of six memorable Pearson compositions arranged for a dynamic 8-piece band featuring trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, trombonist Garnett Brown, alto saxophonist James Spaulding, alto saxophonist/flutist Jerry Dodgion, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Grady Tate.
Herbie Nichols – The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 1 & 2 Blue Note Re-Issue Vinyl
Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition on 180-gram LP
Art Blakey’s 1960 hard bop classic, The Big Beat, introduced one of the greatest line-ups of the Jazz Messengers with the legendary drummer joined by Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons, and Jymie Merritt. 3 of the 6 tunes were composed by Shorter, but the album is best-known for an unforgettable version of Timmons’ enduring hit “Dat Dere.” Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal in Germany.
Horace Parlan – Speakin’ My Piece (Classic Vinyl Series) Blue Note Vinyl
Best known for his work with Charles Mingus, pianist Horace Parlan began recording for Blue Note in 1960 with an excellent run of hard bop classics including Speakin’ My Piece, a quintet date featuring a frontline of Stanley Turrentine on saxophone and Tommy Turrentine on trumpet with the rhythm team of George Tucker on bass and Al Harewood on drums. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.
Jack Wilson – Easterly Winds – Blue Note (Tone Poet) 180g Vinyl
he six-song set presented four Wilson originals including the groovy opener “Do It” and the sublime ballad “Nirvanna” in addition to a tender rendition of the Johnny Mandel tune “A Time for Love” and “Frank’s Tune” by Frank Strozier, which was recently reimagined by Makaya McCraven on his 2021 Blue Note remix project Deciphering the Message.
Joe Lovano – Trio Fascination: Edition One – Tone Poet Vinyl Series
On his remarkable 1997 album Trio Fascination: Edition One saxophonist Joe Lovano joined forces with two all-time legends—bassist Dave Holland and drummer Elvin Jones—in a spare trio setting that finds these three masters conversing freely. This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition marks the album’s first-ever release on vinyl and was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.
McCoy Tyner – Time For Tyner Lp (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) – Blue Note Vinyl
The great pianist McCoy Tyner made his Blue Note debut with The Real McCoy in 1967 soon after departing John Coltrane’s quartet and returned to the studio months after Coltrane’s death to record Tender Moments with an expanded ensemble featuring a 6-piece horn section. For his 3rd Blue Note date Time For Tyner, recorded in 1968, the pianist went a different direction by assembling a hornless quartet with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Freddie Waits. Tyner and Hutcherson’s first recorded encounter came on the vibraphonist’s 1966 Blue Note album Stick-Up, and here their musical comradery deepened even further.
