Tag: Blue Note
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Herbie Hancock, My Point of View, 1963 on Blue Note
Hancock’s sophomore album as a leader, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in Englewood Cliffs NJ. Hancock joined by Donald Byrd (trumpet), Gracham Moncur III (trombone), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Grant Green (guitar), Chuck Isreals (bass), and Anthony Williams (drums). Herbie Hancock is a master, and it is wonderful to find the early Blue Note albums…
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Grant Green, Green is Beautiful, 1970 on Blue Note
Green joined here by Blue Mitchell (trumpet), Claude Bartee (tenor sax), Emmanuel Riggens (organ), Jimmy Lewis (bass), and Idris Muhammad (drums) plus Richard Lendrum (bongos) and Candido Camero (congas). Recorded in 1970 by Rudy Van Gelder in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. My copy—via Salem Flea Marketplace—is the 2023 Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series reissue, mastered by…
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Norah Jones, Day Breaks, 2016 on Blue Note
Sixth studio album from Norah Jones, and the only one so far I’ve managed to locate on vinyl (I’ve been looking). Produced by Eli Wolf and Jones, and recorded in Brooklyn, this LP has Jones going back to the piano driven vocal-centric approach of Come Away With Me. Wayne Shorter shows up on four songs…
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Cliff Jordan, Cliff Jordan, 1957 on Blue Note
Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack NJ, Jordan is joined by John Jenkins (alto sax), Art Taylor (drums), Ray Bryant (piano), Curtis Fuller (trombone) and Lee Morgan (trumpet). This is one of two Blue Note LPs he put out in 1957 (the other was Blowing in From Chicago with John Gilmore). My copy—via Amazon—is…
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Horace Silver Quintet, Silver’s Serenade, 1963 on Blue Note
The quintent here is Silver joined by Blue Mitchell (trumpet), Junior Cook (tenor sax), Gene Taylor (bass), and Roy Brooks (drums). Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in Englewood Cliffs, with Alfred Lion producing. My copy—via Amazon—is another Blue Note Tone Poet Series reissue from 2024. Yes, I realize there are other jazz labels and other…
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Freddie Roach, Good Move!, 1964 on Blue Note
Freddie Roach’s third album as a leader, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in Englewood Cliff with Blue Mitchell (trumpet), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Eddie Wright (guitar), and Clarence Johnston (drums). Tunes include “It Ain’t Necessarily So” (Gerswhin) and Pastel (Garner) as well as “T’Ain’t What You Do (It’s The Way That You Do It).” Great…
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Big John Patton, Let ‘Em Roll, 1966 on Blue Note
Patton joined by Otis Finch (drums), Grant Green (guitar), and Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), and recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Fantastic Hammond B3 driven mid-sixties Blue Note jazz – can’t go wrong. My copy—direct from Amazon, which often has deals on these—is the Blue Note Tone Poet series reissue from 2023, with…
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Lou Donaldson, Midnight Creeper, 1968 on Blue Note
Donaldson joined here by Leo Morris (drums), George Benson (guitar), Lonnie Smith (organ) and Blue Mitchell (trumpet). Very groovy soul-jazz LP from late sixties Blue Note. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in Englewood Cliffs and produced by Francis Wolff. My copy—via Amazon—is the Blue Note Tone Poet reissue from 2024, mastered by Kevin Gray and…
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Blue Mitchell, Down With It, 1966 on Blue Note
Another fantastic Blue Note jazz LP, this came out originally in 1966. It features Mitchell (trumpet) with Junior Cook (tenor sax), Chick Corea (piano), Gene Taylor (bass), and Aloysius Foster (drums), and was recorded at Van Gelder Studios in New Jersey. My copy- via a private sale – is the Blue Note Tone Poet reissue…
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Bud Powell, Time Waits (The Amazing Bud Powell, Volume 4), 1958 on Blue Note
Powell joined by Sam Jones and Philly Joe Jones, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack NJ, and produced by Alfred Lion. Sleeve notes by Leonard Feather. My copy is the 2022 Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series reissue, pressed at Optimal GmbH and mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent – wonderful pressing.
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Various Artists, Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen, 2022 on Blue Note
Wonderful compilation of covers in tribute to Leonard Cohen by a collection of artists, including: It’s challenging, as Cohen songs (“Hallelujah” in particular) have been so heavily covered but I still think people manage to bring something new to these renditions – highly recommended. My copy—direct from Blue Note—is the standard black vinyl 2xLP version,…
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Herbie Hancock, Inventions and Dimensions, 1964 on Blue Note
Hancock is joined by Paul Chambers, Willie Bobo and Chihuahua Martinez—though it’s not really what you’d call a Latin jazz album so much as post-bop or modal. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder at his Englewood Cliffs studio. My copy—direct from Blue Note—is the 2019 Blue Note 80 Vinyl Series reissue mastered for vinyl by Kevin…
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Bobby Hutcherson, Montara, 1975 on Blue Note
Vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson’s ~13th album on Blue Note – west coast Latin jazz. Recorded in LA (Record Plant) in August 1975 and produced by Dale Oehler. Hutcherson passed in 2016. My copy is part of the Vinyl Me Please Anthology The Story of Blue Note Records (2024 edition) which reproduces the mid-70s Blue Note labels.
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Wayne Shorter, Schizophrenia, 1969 on Blue Note
Eleventh Wayne Shorter album, with Herbie Hancock, Curtis Fuller, Ron Carter, James Spaulding, and Joe Chambers. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, with Francis Wolff producing. This is transitional between post-bop and free jazz – looser and closer to the edge than my normal taste, but worth a listen for anyone interested in post-bop or Shorter…
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Lou Donaldson, The Natural Soul, 1963 on Blue Note
Another album from the excellent Story of Blue Note Records VMP Anthology, this came five years after Blues Walk, and features Grant Green, John Patton, Ben Dixon, and Tommy Turrentine (brother of Stanley). Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in his Englewood Cliffs NJ studio and produced by Alfred Lion. My copy is part of the…
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Dexter Gordon, Dexter Calling, 1962 on Blue Note
Released in mono in 1961 and in stereo in 1962, this was Gordon’s second album on Blue Note, following quickly after Doin’ Allright and five years after Daddy Plays the Horn. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder at his studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Gordon is joined by Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, and Kenny Drew.…
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Harold Vick, Steppin’ Out!, 1963 on Blue Note
Debut album from Harold Vick (as a leader), recorded Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, with a wonderful supporting cast: Blue Mitchell, Grant Green, John Patton, and Ben Dixon. Vick would also go on to play with folks like King Curtis and Aretha Franklin, and passed in 1987. Great album of early…
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Ambrose Akinmusire, When the Heart Emerges Glistening, 2011 on Blue Note
Akinmusire is an avant-garde jazz trumpeter from Oakland by way of the Manhattan School of Music, USC, and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in LA. This was his second album (first on Blue Note) with Walter Smith III on sax, Gerald Clayton on piano, Harish Raghavan on bass, and Justin Brown on drums. “My…