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.
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.
