Big John Patton – Let ‘Em Roll – Blue Note (Tone Poet) 180g Vinyl
Blue Mitchell Quintet – Down With It! – Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180g Vinyl
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.
Freddie Hubbard – Blue Spirits Lp (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) Blue Note 180G Vinyl
The prodigious trumpeter Freddie Hubbard debuted on Blue Note in 1960 and produced an astounding run of recordings over the first half of the decade that culminated with Blue Spirits, which was the last of his 1960s studio albums for the label. This bluesy and spirited album presented five evocative Hubbard originals, each of which was given a richly textured arrangement for an ensemble that included a dynamic four-horn line-up.
Freddie Roach – Good Move (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) 180g Vinyl
In the 1960s, Blue Note’s roster of organists was second to none with leading Hammond B3 practitioners like Jimmy Smith, Big John Patton, and Larry Young each honing their own distinctive styles on the instrument. Freddie Roach was first introduced to Blue Note listeners on Ike Quebec’s albums Heavy Soul and It Might As Well Be Spring and soon began his own run of leader dates for the label including the 1963 standout Good Move featuring Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Eddie Wright on guitar, and Clarence Johnston on drums. This soul jazz classic makes all the right moves with set highlights including “When Malindy Sings,” an Oscar Brown song that was performed by Abbey Lincoln, and Roach’s own church-rooted “Wine, Wine, Wine” and “On Our Way Up,” an uplifting anthem that he wrote on the day of the historic March on Washington.
Hank Mobley – A Slice of the Top (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) Blue Note 180G Vinyl
Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley had already been building a formidable Blue Note catalog for more than a decade when he conceived of his unique album A Slice of the Top, which was recorded in 1966 but not first released until 1979 as part of the LT Series.
Inspired by Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool, Mobley collaborated with Duke Pearson who arranged four Mobley originals and the pop standard “There’s a Lull In My Life” for an octet that added Kiane Zawadi’s euphonium and Howard Johnson’s tuba to a group consisting of James Spaulding on alto saxophone and flute, Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums.
Behold Mobley’s lyrical flights on standout tunes including “Hank’s Other Bag,” “A Touch of Blue,” and “A Slice of the Top.”
Hank Mobley – Soul Station Blue Note 180G Vinyl
Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley had already led nine dates for Blue Note Records by the time he arrived at Rudy Van Gelder's studio on February 7, 1960 with pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey, but on that day the quartet laid down what would become his masterpiece: Soul Station. The crystalline six-song set was a showcase for Mobley's lyrical flow from the breezy opening take on Irving Berlin's 'Remember' through bluesy originals like 'Dig Dis' and the title track, and the swinging up-tempo numbers 'This I Dig of You' and 'Split Feelin's.' Soul Station endures as a jazz classic for the ages..
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.
