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LP
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ST 84221LP
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Released in 2022. "Blue Note Records has announced the continuation of the Classic Vinyl Reissue Series which presents 180g vinyl LP reissues in standard packaging mastered by Kevin Gray and manufactured at Optimal. The pressings are all-analog whenever an analog source is available, with Gray mastering directly from the original master tapes. While the first 16 titles of the series focused on the best-known Blue Note classics from the 1950s and '60s, the new run of titles curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman broadens its scope to span the many eras and styles of the legendary label's eight-decade history presented by themes: bebop, hard bop, soul jazz, post-bop, avant-garde, the '70s, the rebirth, and hidden gems. Until the emergence of Larry Young, Blue Note's Hammond B3 organ tradition was firmly rooted in soul jazz, having been established by B3 trailblazer Jimmy Smith and soulful players the likes of Big John Patton and Baby Face Willette. However, Young brought an entirely new perspective to the instrument by placing it in a more adventurous post-bop context, an innovative approach that recontextualized its possibilities. Young had introduced these inclinations on his excellent 1964 Blue Note debut Into Somethin', but with his 1965 album Unity he created a singular masterpiece with a cast of modernist jazz visionaries: trumpeter Woody Shaw, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, and drummer Elvin Jones. The apt album title expressed the undeniable synergy this unique quartet achieved. The program consisted of three distinctive originals by Shaw ('Zoltan,' 'The Moontrane,' and 'Beyond All Limits'), Henderson's bluesy, hard-swinging 'If,' and memorable versions of 'Monk's Dream' by Thelonious Monk and the standard 'Softly As In A Morning Sunrise.'"
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2LP
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BST 1577LP
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"65th anniversary special edition. John Coltrane performs by courtesy of Prestige Records, Kenny Drew by courtesy of Riverside Records. A Blue Note Records release."
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LP
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BN 84029LP
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"The timeless 1960 hard bop classic The Big Beat was the album that first introduced one of the greatest line-ups of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers to the jazz public with the legendary drummer and bandleader joined by trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt. Shorter was the band's newest member, and it was immediately clear that his presence would steer the group's sound in a new more modern direction. Three of the album's six pieces were penned by Shorter including the swaggering set opener 'The Chess Players,' the imaginative 'Sakeena's Vision' written for Blakey's young daughter, and the tribute 'Lester Left Town' which was dedicated to influential jazz tenor forefather Lester Young. However, it was Timmons' unforgettable gospel-influenced tune 'Dat Dere,' a suitably soulful follow-up to the band's previous hit 'Moanin',' that the album would ultimately become best-known for. This excellent edition of The Jazz Messengers would go on to record a phenomenal run of classic albums including A Night In Tunisia, Like Someone In Love, The Freedom Rider, Roots & Herbs, and The Witch Doctor. This classic vinyl edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal."
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LP
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BST 84172LP
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2022 reissue. Released in the Blue Note Tone Poet series. 1964 release. "Despite having performed on several of the most revolutionary avant-garde jazz records of the 1960s, including Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz and John Coltrane's Ascension, Freddie Hubbard's own albums tended to hew closer to the mainstream. Perhaps no other single album captures the trumpeter's awe-inspiring breadth of ability and versatility than Breaking Point!, which was recorded in May 1964 shortly after Hubbard had departed Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in order to form his own band. On this six-song set featuring five of Hubbard's original compositions, his new quintet -- with James Spaulding on alto saxophone and flute, Ronnie Mathews on piano, Eddie Khan on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums -- moves assuredly across vast stylistic terrain. On the stunning title track alone the band shifts from free-form exploration into a playful Calypso and back with ease. The rest of the program traverses modal jazz ('Far Away'), the blues ('Blue Frenzy'), and stunningly beautiful balladry (Chambers's 'Mirrors') to create one of the more remarkable albums in Hubbard's formidable Blue Note oeuvre."
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LP
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BST 84427LP
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2024 restock. Released in the Blue Note Tone Poet series. 1979 release. "Jackie McLean's 1960s Blue Note output is a fascinating body of work, especially viewed with the benefit of hindsight. In between recording two venturous modernist sessions -- Let Freedom Ring and One Step Beyond -- that would set the tone for the alto saxophonist's future explorations, came the seemingly more conventional and relaxed quartet date Tippin' The Scales. Recorded in September 1962 but not released until 1979, the date featured McLean with Sonny Clark on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Art Taylor on drums delivering a swinging hard bop set that presented 2 originals by McLean ('Tippin' the Scales' and 'Rainy Blues') along with three by Clark ('Nursery Blues,' 'Nicely,' and 'Two For One'), as well as a tender version of Vernon Duke's 'Cabin in the Sky.'"
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