Donald Byrd – Byrd’s Eye View – Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180g Vinyl
Recorded in 1955 for producer Tom Wilson’s short-lived Boston-based label Transition Records, Byrd’s Eye View was trumpeter Donald Byrd’s first issued recording as a leader. The date presented Byrd at the helm of what was then the current line-up of The Jazz Messengers with tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Horace Silver, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Art Blakey.
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Doug Watkins – Watkins At Large- Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180g Vinyl
Recorded in 1956 for producer Tom Wilson's short-lived Boston-based label Transition Records, Watkins At Largewas the first of only two albums that the great bassist Doug Watkins would make as a leader. The Detroit native had moved to New York and begun to garner recognition for his contributions to the Art Blakey-Horace Silver co-led iteration of the Jazz Messengers as well as Bud Powell's trio when Wilson decided to give him the opportunity to front his own recording date.
Along with a first-rate ensemble featuring trumpeter Donald Byrd, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, guitarist Kenny Burrell, pianist Duke Jordan, and drummer Art Taylor, Watkins swings through a stellar set of blues, ballads, and more including originals written by Jordan, Burrell, and Thad Jones.
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.
Grant Green – Feelin’ The Spirit (Tone Poet Series) Blue Note 180G Vinyl
Blue Note Tone Poet Series Vinyl Edition on 180-gram LP
Grant Green was Feelin’ The Spirit on this deeply soulful 1962 date that found the great guitarist interpreting a set of spirituals with a state-of-the-art modern jazz line-up featuring Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, Billy Higgins on drums plus Garvin Masseaux on tambourine. This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.
Grant Green – I Want to Hold Your Hand – Blue Note (Tone Poet) 180g Vinyl
The trio of guitarist Grant Green, organist Larry Young, and drummer Elvin Jones had a unique alchemy from the first time they got together on Green’s 1964 album Talkin’ About. A couple months later the trio reconvened as a quartet with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson to record Street of Dreams. For 1965’s I Want To Hold Your Hand they subtly changed their palette again by adding tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley into the mix. The result was another simmering set imbued with sophisticated soul.
Grant Green – Idle Moments – Blue Note 180G Vinyl
Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition on 180-gram LP
Time and troubles seem to melt away during the 15 enrapturing minutes of "Idle Moments," the opening track of Grant Green's sublime 1963 album of the same name. As the piece unfurls, all the unique colors of the ensemble present themselves with Green on guitar, Duke Pearson on piano, Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone, Bob Cranshaw on upright bass, Al Harewood on drums, and Joe Henderson on tenor sax. Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered from the original tapes on 180-gram LP.
Grant Green – The Latin Bit (Tone Poet Series) Blue Note 180G Vinyl
Guitarist Grant Green explored Latin & Brazilian influences on his highly enjoyable 1962 album The Latin Bit featuring Johnny Acea on piano, Wendell Marshall on bass, Willie Bobo on drums, Carlos "Patato" Valdes on conga, and Garvin Masseaux on chekere. Blue Note Records’ Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tapes, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).
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 Hancock – Empyrean Isles: Blue Note Classic 180g Vinyl
Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP Mastered by Kevin Gray Directly from the Original Master Tapes and Manufactured at Optimal in Germany
The Classic Vinyl Reissue Series is the continuation of Blue Note’s acclaimed Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series, which was created in celebration of the 80th anniversary of Blue Note Records in 2019. The series presents affordable, high-quality reissues in standard packaging that are mastered by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio and manufactured on 180g vinyl at Optimal Media in Germany. The pressings are all-analog whenever an analog source is available, with Gray mastering directly from the original master tapes.
