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Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings – Blue Note Records 180g Vinyl
A previously unreleased live recording of drum legend Art Blakey with a classic line-up of the Jazz Messengers, featuring trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt. It was captured on January 14, 1961, at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo during the band’s first-ever tour of Japan. Co-produced by Zev Feldman and David Weiss, the audio was newly transferred from the original 1/4″ tape reels.
Big John Patton – Let ‘Em Roll – Blue Note (Tone Poet) 180g Vinyl
On 1967's Schizophrenia Shorter arrived at the pinnacle of post-bop and gazed out at the horizons around him. A current of the avant-garde already coursed through his music and the next time he would enter the studio for Blue Note would be for his 1969 fusion exploration Super Nova. But in this moment, he produced one of his most complete and stylistically diverse artistic statements with a sextet of like-minded musical adventurers, including James Spaulding on alto saxophone and flute, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums. The six-song set of original compositions includes several of Shorter's most enduring themes including the unforgettable groove of "Tom Thumb," the evocative "Go," and the beautiful ballad "Miyako," as well as Spaulding's churning piece "Kryptonite."
Blue Mitchell Quintet – Down With It! – Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180g Vinyl
Bobby Hutcherson – Total Eclipse – Blue Note Tone Poet Vinyl Series
Vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson was a defining feature of the sound of Blue Note Records throughout the 1960s, equally at home in hard bop, soul jazz, and avant-garde settings. His 1968 album Total Eclipse was the vibraphonist’s first recording to feature tenor saxophonist and flutist Harold Land who would go on to become a key collaborator in the years to follow. Hutcherson and Land had been co-leading a band on the West Coast and came to New York City for engagements at Slugs’ Saloon and the Village Vanguard before heading into Plaza Sound Studio to record the album.
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.
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 Rollinswho 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.
Donald Byrd – Byrd’s Eye View Lp – Blue Note Tone Poet Vinyl Series
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.
Donald Byrd – Slow Drag Lp (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) – Blue Note Vinyl
More than a dozen albums into his Blue Note tenure, Donald Byrd’s1967 date Slow Drag would be one of the last pure hard bop sessions that the reliably brilliant trumpeter would cut before his music began evolving towards fusion. Byrd flies high on this highly gratifying set that finds it’s groove across a variety of feels fueled by the tremendous drumming of Billy Higgins. The quintet is rounded out by alto saxophonist Sonny Red, pianist Cedar Walton, and bassist Walter Booker, each of whom contribute original compositions to the set list.
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.
Elvin Jones – Poly-Currents Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180g Vinyl
After his six years with the seminal John Coltrane Quartet, the master drummer Elvin Jones signed with Blue Note in 1968 and began building his own career as a bandleader. His first two albums for the label were spare trio outings—Puttin’ It Together and The Ultimate—both featuring saxophonist Joe Farrell and bassist Jimmy Garrison. For his next album—1969’s unfettered post-bop exploration Poly-Currents—Jones expanded his ensemble with additional woodwinds and percussion while still maintaining spacious realms for the musicians to delve into on modal band member originals including “Agenda,” Agappe Love,” “Mr. Jones,” and “Whew.” Jones is joined throughout by a cast that includes Farrell on tenor saxophone, English horn, and flutes, George Coleman on tenor saxophone, Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, Fred Tompkins on flute, Wilbur Little on bass, and Cuban conguero Candido Camero.
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.
