New Release Round-up,
Jazz Vinyl Round-Up - Reissued Classics from Blue Note
New and upcoming vinyl reissues from Blue Note include 60s Dexter Gordon, Andrew Hill’s Passing Ships, classics by Sonny Clark and Hank Mobley, and a deluxe box set from trumpeter Lee Morgan.
Go! was one of the first recordings Dexter Gordon made with Blue Note after signing with them in 1961, by which point he was already quite the seasoned saxophonist. This recording opens with the Gordon original ‘Cheese Cake’, and features his takes on standards like Cole Porter’s ‘Love for Sale’ and Jule Styne’s ‘I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry’.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
One Flight Up was recorded during Gordon’s time living in Europe, with this particular session taking place in Paris, 1964. This Gordon classic has trumpet player Donald Byrd on top form, the first 18 minutes of the album being taken up by the Byrd-written ‘Tanya’, as well as featuring a then-teenaged Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on double bass.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
The self-taught pianist-turned-Hammond organist Jimmy Smith’s second soul jazz classic, Back at the Chicken Shack, was recorded in the same sessions as his previous album Midnight Special (he even wears the same red shirt on both album covers!). Produced by Blue Note head Alfred Lion, who recorded with Smith at every chance he got, this session includes tunes by Smith and saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, as well as a rendition of Hammerstein’s ‘When I Grow Too Old to Dream’.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
The classic hard bop pianist Sonny Clark began recording for Blue Note after moving to New York in 1957, with Cool Struttin’ releasing in ‘58. Clark would sadly pass away only a few years later in ‘63 at the age of 31, and although he would continue recording until his death, this album is often cited as his strongest work. Also included in the proceedings are some stand-out names like bassist Paul Chambers and trumpeter Art Farmer.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Originally recorded in 1959, My Conception by pianist Sonny Clark wouldn’t be released for a full two decades, even then as a Japan-only LP, again reissued as a CD in 2000. Playing a full set of Clark originals, he managed to recruit some excellent bandmates for this session, with Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley as well as a brilliant rhythm section of Paul Chambers and Art Blakey.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Soul Station was Hank Mobley’s tenth recording for Blue Note, with this session featuring Art Blakey on drums as well as two of Mobley’s Miles Davis Quintet bandmates, pianist Wynton Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers. Often lauded as Mobley’s masterpiece, while the record is bookended by two standards - Irving Berlin’s ‘Remember’ and Ralph Rainger’s ‘If I Should Lose You’, the rest are all Mobley originals, and some of his best work to boot.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Joshua Lee - Jazz Content
