Kenny Burrell had been recording for Blue Note less than a year when he entered Rudy Van Gelder’s Hackensack, New Jersey studio in February 1957 for his 3rd session as a leader for the label. The date presented the guitarist’s signature stylings with a crack team of hard boppers featuring Horace Silver on piano, Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Doug Watkins on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. Side 1 finds the band stretching out on a jaunty take of Silver’s tune “Nica’s Dream,” written for the jazz baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, and Burrell’s hard charging “Out for Blood.” Side 2 offers up several views of the blues with an excellent version of Lester Young’s “D.B. Blues” book-ended by two different takes of Burrell’s easy-going “K.B Blues.” Previously only issued on vinyl in Japan, this swinging set is given a new shine as part of the Tone Poet Series.
This mono Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket
