Exploring vintage jazz vinyl with a focus on label and pressing details, discographical information and critical musings on the music found within the grooves.
On his second to last recording for Blue Note, Herbie stays on the creative hot streak he was on with Maiden Voyage, this time employing some more complex arrangements to create an absolutely beautiful record that remains one of his great musical statements.
Read MoreStanley Turrentine and Milt Jackson lead a group of ultra-talented players on one of the better early CTI recordings, with tracks that range from soulful hard bop to funky soul-jazz delight.
Read MoreOne of the creators and masters of bossa nova teams up with Creed Taylor and Deodato to produce a creative masterpiece a decade after the genre's original burst of popularity.
Read MoreBorn To Be Blue! was Bobby Timmons' final album released during his fruitful tenure with Riverside and it sums up his funky and bluesy approach to the piano, a sound that was so important to the development of the hard bop sound. He was joined by some top-shelf talent with either Sam Jones or Ron Carter in the bassist's chair and the MJQ's Connie Kay performing his magic on the drums.
Read MoreDuring his time with Miles, Shorter recorded a series of albums for Blue Note that were all outstanding and some are even considered stone-cold classics (Speak No Evil, JuJu, Adam's Apple). Towards the end of this run of recordings came Schizophrenia in 1967, a fantastic record that shows off the "two" sides of Shorter - his straight ahead compositions, along with those that moved more into the free jazz and post bop realms.
Read MoreWhile perusing eBay for Woody Shaw LPs that were missing from my collection, I came across an auction for a vintage copy of Song Of Songs, a record that I have long been keen to acquire, but it's one that doesn't come up often and when it does it is often an overpriced OJC reissue. This particular auction had less than a day left and remained at it's $25 starting price with no bids, plus the seller was offering free shipping. All of that peaked my interest...
Read MoreThis record is a sweet little gem that came towards the end of Freddie Hubbard's time with CTI Records (it would be the second to last studio album he would cut for the label). It tends to get overlooked in the trumpeter's CTI discography, as his earlier electric jazz outings for Creed Taylor's imprint are generally the one's that get the most attention.
Read MoreSweet Honey Bee is an all-star outing that is about as good as it gets when it comes to an example of the soul jazz and hard bop music that Blue Note was putting out in the mid to late 1960's. This is the music that many folks associate with the label and why it has remained so relevant and popular to this day.
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