Lee Morgan – Infinity LP (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) – Blue Note Vinyl
Just two months after recording his exceptional sextet date Cornbread, the prolific trumpeter Lee Morgan was back in Van Gelder Studio in November 1965 with a slightly slimmed down—but no less robust—quintet line-up to record his next session Infinity, which wouldn’t be first released until 1981. Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean and drummer Billy Higgins—both of whom were featured on Cornbread—were at Morgan’s side once again along with pianist Larry Willisand bassist Reggie Workman for a five-song set that ventured to the far reaches of the hard bop tradition and beyond. Four compelling Morgan originals and McLean’s engaging ballad “Portrait of Doll” cover a wide expanse of musical terrain including the probing title track, the laid-back 6/8 groove of “Miss Nettie B,” the intricate interlaced lines of “Growing Pains,” and the hard-charging closer “Zip Code.”
Lee Morgan – The Sidewinder (Blue Note Classic Series) – Blue Note Vinyl
Lee Morgan’s magnum opus The Sidewinder—recorded in 1963 and release in 1964—was both a comeback and a coronation. The prodigious trumpeter had debuted on Blue Note in 1956 at the age of 18, but personal problems in the early-60s forced him off the scene temporarily. His rebound recording turned out to be The Sidewinder, an assured and energetic set of 5 indelible Morgan originals featuring tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Barry Harris, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Billy Higgins. The album became his biggest commercial success fueled by the irrepressible title track.
Lou Donaldson – Midnight Creeper Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180g Vinyl
Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson hadn't recorded for Blue Note since 1963 when he returned to the label in 1967 and began a new chapter in his lengthy career. Sweet Papa Lou had helped lay Blue Note's soul jazz foundation alongside Hammond B3 organists including Jimmy Smith, Baby Face Willette, and Big John Patton going back to the late-1950s thru the early-60s on standout dates including his own Here ‘Tis, Good Gracious!, and The Natural Soul.
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.