McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy (1967)

BLUE NOTE 25 "BEST" ALBUMS MONTH* (JULY 2026)

Dutch import

A keeper. The Real McCoy is the album most often identified as Tyner's definitive recording. It marked his Blue Note debut after leaving the John Coltrane Quartet and presented his first album consisting entirely of original compositions. McCoy's utilizes the piano as a percussion instrument (it is, strictly speaking) which somehow provides a clarity other pianists lack. As for the backing band, everybody shines. My particular mix has Carter too far back and Jones too far forward, so I have to play around with my levels to get a good balance. Ah well, this album is one of those recommended almost universally and reissued with remarkable regularity. It shouldn't be terribly difficult to find a better mix.

More hype, direct from the Blue Note website:

The peak statement of Tyner’s solo career, The Real McCoy is also one of a handful of recordings that define post-bop. Lots of records from this genre have interesting tunes and blazing solo performances, but few attain such an interconnected synergy. Listening to these these rich, beautifully realized atmospheres, and how they inspire deep, passionate, strikingly collective improvisations, you realize how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go in our quest for peace.

Tyner - piano
Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone
Ron Carter - bass
Elvin Jones - drums

Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff.

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "Tyner displays melodic inventiveness and clarity of ideas, and the LP should find fast favor with jazz aficianados [sic]."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★: "A key album in Tyner's discography. Very highly recommended."
• Billboard: ★★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★★

In addition to being named as one of Blue Note's 25 Best Albums, The Real McCoy placed at #17 on the udiscover.com list of the 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums and listed in the The New York Times Essential Jazz Library: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings (2002), where it was written The Real McCoy "perfectly represents the mainstream of small-group jazz for the mid-sixties at least to the mid-nineties."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: the album opener, Passion Dance, is a classic, but my favorite cuts slow it down a bit: Contemplation and Search For Peace.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Things Ain't What They Used To Be (1990)
Dimensions (1984)

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*In 1987, the European offices of Blue Note records compiled a list of the 25 Best Blue Note Albums in an effort to promote sales of classic Blue Note albums released on CD for the first time. Albums selected for the list were originally released in the years 1953-1967.

At the time, the Blue Note label had been subsumed by the EMI group. This allowed the selections to be made from other EMI labels, namely Capitol, United Artists, and Liberty. Therefore, the list-makers were able to look outside the Blue Note label and squeeze in titles by artists such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker, & Count Basie. It reads more like "albums we had the rights to, by 25 well-known jazz artists," making the list as much about artists as albums. As a marketing tool, it makes sense. As a starting place to build a Blue Note collection you could do worse. Of course, you could also do much better. But the thing exists, it caught my attention, and here we are.

Sonny Rollins - Newk's Time (1959)

BLUE NOTE 25 "BEST" ALBUMS MONTH* (JULY 2026)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 1990 reissue.

Released in 1959 but recorded in late 1957, Newk's Time shows why Rollins had become one of the defining voices in hard bop. Rollins plays with a confidence that makes his technical brilliance seem too easy. It's a great album that is rarely the first one mentioned in discussions of the era, which says more about the high standard of the period and artists than about the record itself. However, it continues to sell modestly as the album has seen decades of reissues and audiophile editions. I guess some records never really disappear; they simply wait for some incredulous critic to declare them underrated.

In the 1950s, Rollins mainly recorded for the Prestige label (his most recognized/acclaimed album is Saxophone Collossus); Newk's Time is the third of only three albums released by Blue Note. Not long after this album was released, Rollins began his famous Williamsburg Bridge sabbatical. Also around this time, Rollins appeared in Art Kane's A Great Day in Harlem photograph (1958). For a number of years, he was the last surviving musician from the photo before passing away at age 95 on May 25, 2026.

Rollins - tenor saxophone
Wynton Kelly - piano
Doug Watkins - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums

Original liner notes by Joe Goldberg.

Reviews/ratings:

• Downbeat (★★★½): "This is in the main a blowing session. But since Rollins blows with such enormous vitality and virility, some of it is rich stuff."
• CashBox: "6 immensely gratifying performances"
• HiFi Review (Stereo Review): "One of the more consistent Rollins albums in recent months, this one underlines the influential tenor saxophonist's extraordinarily hot playing."
• Billboard (★★★★): "shows off some of his best work, and is enjoyable listening to boot."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: My top pick is the unusual treatment of the 1943 show tune The Surrey With The Fringe On Top which utilizes only Rollins and Jones. Other favorites include Tune Up, Blues For Philly Joe, and Namely You.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

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*In 1987, the European offices of Blue Note records compiled a list of the 25 Best Blue Note Albums in an effort to promote sales of classic Blue Note albums released on CD for the first time. Albums selected for the list were originally released in the years 1953-1967.

At the time, the Blue Note label had been subsumed by the EMI group. This allowed the selections to be made from other EMI labels, namely Capitol, United Artists, and Liberty. Therefore, the list-makers were able to look outside the Blue Note label and squeeze in titles by artists such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker, & Count Basie. It reads more like "albums we had the rights to, by 25 well-known jazz artists," making the list as much about artists as albums. As a marketing tool, it makes sense. As a starting place to build a Blue Note collection you could do worse. Of course, you could also do much better. But the thing exists, it caught my attention, and here we are.

Duke Ellington - Money Jungle (1963)

BLUE NOTE 25 "BEST" ALBUMS MONTH* (JULY 2026)

Note: the CD I listened to was the dismal 1987 reissue with 6 bonus tracks.

Ellington was a living legend by 1962 when producer Alan Douglas decided to have Ellington record a piano trio album with jazz legends twenty years his junior. Ellington wrote new tunes as well as reusing some earlier material. Each man played his own style and at times it sounds like three alpha dogs fighting over one bone. I understand the music, I appreciate the talent, I understand the critic's love for the album and it's lasting legacy; I just don't enjoy listening to it.

Ellington - piano
Charlie Mingus - bass
Max Roach - drums

Original liner notes by George Wein, founder of the Newport Jazz Festival.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "Here is a wonderful Duke on piano, superb work from Mingus and solid rhythm support from Roach."
• Downbeat: ★★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★½
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

In addition to being named as one of Blue Note's 25 Best Albums, Money Jungle was placed at #134 on Pitchfork's list of the 200 Best Albums of the 1960s and merited mention in the book The New York Times Essential Jazz Library by Ben Ratliff.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: before I get to the tracks themselves, let me mention that this 1987 reissue is a hot mess that should never have been released. Adding alternate takes in strange places, changing the original sequencing, and remixed poorly. Somebody should have said something.

	1963 original		1987 reissue
1	Money Jungle	1	Very Special
2	Le Fleurs Africaines (African Flower)	2	A Little Max (Parfait)
3	Very Special	3	A Little Max (Parfait) alternate take
4	Warm Valley	4	Fleurette Africaine (African Flower)
5	Wig Wise	5	REM Blues
6	Caravan	6	Wig Wise
7	Solitude	7	Switch Blade
		8	Caravan
		9	Money Jungle
		10	Solitude alternate take
		11	Solitude
		12	Warm Valley
		13	Backward Country Boy Blues

The standout track is Solitude. Of the others, I prefer Very Special, REM Blues, and Warm Valley.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
with Count Basie - First Time! The Count Meets The Duke (1962)

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*In 1987, the European offices of Blue Note records compiled a list of the 25 Best Blue Note Albums in an effort to promote sales of classic Blue Note albums released on CD for the first time. Albums selected for the list were originally released in the years 1953-1967.

At the time, the Blue Note label had been subsumed by the EMI group. This allowed the selections to be made from other EMI labels, namely Capitol, United Artists, and Liberty. Therefore, the list-makers were able to look outside the Blue Note label and squeeze in titles by artists such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker, & Count Basie. It reads more like "albums we had the rights to, by 25 well-known jazz artists," making the list as much about artists as albums. As a marketing tool, it makes sense. As a starting place to build a Blue Note collection you could do worse. Of course, you could also do much better. But the thing exists, it caught my attention, and here we are.

Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin' (1958)

BLUE NOTE 25 "BEST" ALBUMS MONTH* (JULY 2026)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 1999 Rudy Van Gelder Edition with 2 bonus tracks.

I shouldn't try to write about this album simply because the album title is basically the whole aesthetic in two words. Nothing is rushed and nothing is wasted; a perfect balance between swing and restraint. It's cool and it struts.

Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff and 1999 reissue liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.

Clark - piano
Art Farmer - trumpet
Jackie McLean - alto saxophone
Paul Chambers - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard (★★): "The set moves and Farmer and McClean have good chances for solos."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

In addition to being named as one of Blue Note's 25 Best Albums, Cool Struttin' placed at #22 on the udiscover.com list of the 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: The original album was only 4 tracks, two long tracks per side - the kind where everybody gets a lengthy solo turn. Of the four, my favorites are the title track, a Clark original, and the final cut, a rendition of Lover by Rodgers & Hart.

Bonus tracks: From the same recording session, we're treated to another Clark original titled Royal Flush and a cover of the Rodgers & Hart standard, Lover.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Sonny Clark Trio (1958)

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*In 1987, the European offices of Blue Note records compiled a list of the 25 Best Blue Note Albums in an effort to promote sales of classic Blue Note albums released on CD for the first time. Albums selected for the list were originally released in the years 1953-1967.

At the time, the Blue Note label had been subsumed by the EMI group. This allowed the selections to be made from other EMI labels, namely Capitol, United Artists, and Liberty. Therefore, the list-makers were able to look outside the Blue Note label and squeeze in titles by artists such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker, & Count Basie. It reads more like "albums we had the rights to, by 25 well-known jazz artists," making the list as much about artists as albums. As a marketing tool, it makes sense. As a starting place to build a Blue Note collection you could do worse. Of course, you could also do much better. But the thing exists, it caught my attention, and here we are.

Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else (1958)

BLUE NOTE 25 "BEST" ALBUMS MONTH* (JULY 2026)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 1999 Rudy Van Gelder Edition with 1 bonus track.

Widely regarded as a landmark album of hard bop, although the credits might be a little misleading. As the High Fidelity review clearly states, Somethin' Else "is undoubtedly Miles Davis' record." Though officially credited to Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, the album famously features Davis, Adderley's boss at the time. In a rare act of generosity, Davis stepped into a sideman role, but his influence can be heard throughout. Davis didn’t just show up; he brought the moody, bluesy title track and reportedly handpicked most of the album's material. Overall, Somethin' Else tastefully bridges the gap between Milestones and Kind of Blue, cementing its legacy as an essential cornerstone of any jazz collection. With that kind of firepower, it's not surprising that Somethin' Else placed at #1 on the udiscover.com list of the 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums.

Adderley - alto saxophone
Miles Davis - trumpet
Hank Jones - piano
Sam Jones - bass
Art Blakey - drums

Original liner notes by Leonard Feather and 1999 reissue liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.

Reviews/ratings:

• Downbeat (★★★★★): "There's really not too much to say about this set. It's the result of five thoroughly professional jazzmen playing together and making it."
• High Fidelity: "it is undoubtedly Miles Davis' record."
• Stereo Review: "Intensely stimulating."
• Billboard: "perhaps one of the best of the year."
• CashBox: "Fine combo cohesion here."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: It's all good, but you just can't beat the first three tracks in that exact order.

Bonus track: Track 6 is a Hank Jones composition titled Bangoon which would have easily fit on the album, but I'm guessing was left off the original release due to time limitations.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

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*In 1987, the European offices of Blue Note records compiled a list of the 25 Best Blue Note Albums in an effort to promote sales of classic Blue Note albums released on CD for the first time. Albums selected for the list were originally released in the years 1953-1967.

At the time, the Blue Note label had been subsumed by the EMI group. This allowed the selections to be made from other EMI labels, namely Capitol, United Artists, and Liberty. Therefore, the list-makers were able to look outside the Blue Note label and squeeze in titles by artists such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker, & Count Basie. It reads more like "albums we had the rights to, by 25 well-known jazz artists," making the list as much about artists as albums. As a marketing tool, it makes sense. As a starting place to build a Blue Note collection you could do worse. Of course, you could also do much better. But the thing exists, it caught my attention, and here we are.

Count Basie - The Complete Atomic Basie (1958)

BLUE NOTE 25 "BEST" ALBUMS* MONTH (JULY 2026)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 1994 mono reissue with 5 bonus tracks. The album was originally simply called Basie, it is also known as The Atomic Mr. Basie or E=MC², and reissued here as The Complete Atomic Basie.

Big band music that seems effortless but also controlled. I recognize the name Neal Hefti from the 1966 Batman series theme song (and you just sung that theme in your head, didn't you?), but was unfamiliar with his work on this album prior to buying this disc. Nefti wrote all the charts here and every note is in the right place. In 1958, big band music was on the wane, being replaced by smaller (and cheaper) jazz combos, but Basie proves that he could still make the whole enterprise swing and glide.

Original liner notes by Barry Ulanov.

Reviews/ratings:

• High Fidelity: "without any qualification the best LP that Basie's current band has ever made"
• CashBox: "Terrific readings"
• Billboard: "The Basie's band's debut on the Roulette label is an auspicious one."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★★

In addition to being named as one of Blue Note's 25 Best Albums, The album won both Best Jazz Performance, Group and Best Performance by a Dance Band awards at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards. It was later recognized in the books 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, edited by Robert Dimery, and The New York Times Essential Jazz Library by Ben Ratliff. (The 1001 Albums write up claims this is "Basie's last great record" but my vote for that title would be Sinatra at the Sands.)

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: All 11 original tracks are fantastic, but if I'm picking favorites, I'll mention Duet, Double-O, and Splanky (because they just sound like Basie tunes oughta sound), and the laid back ballads After Supper, Midnite Blue, and Li'l Darlin'.

Bonus tracks: These five tracks were arranged by Jimmy Mundy and therefore have a slightly different feel to them - not quite as tight. We're offered the Mundy original Silks & Satins, two takes of Sleepwalker's Serenade, and two takes of The Late Late Show, one with a vocal from Joe Williams. Nothing terrible, they're just a little lacking compared to what came before.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but I wish I had somehow discovered it during my big band phase in the 1980's.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Big Boss Band (1990) with George Benson
Sinatra at the Sands (1966) with Frank Sinatra
It Might As Well Be Swing (1964) with Frank Sinatra
First Time! The Count Meets The Duke (1962) with Duke Ellington

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*In 1987, the European offices of Blue Note records compiled a list of the 25 Best Blue Note Albums in an effort to promote sales of classic Blue Note albums released on CD for the first time. Albums selected for the list were originally released in the years 1953-1967.

At the time, the Blue Note label had been subsumed by the EMI group. This allowed the selections to be made from other EMI labels, namely Capitol, United Artists, and Liberty. Therefore, the list-makers were able to look outside the Blue Note label and squeeze in titles by artists such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker, & Count Basie. It reads more like "albums we had the rights to, by 25 well-known jazz artists," making the list as much about artists as albums. As a marketing tool, it makes sense. As a starting place to build a Blue Note collection you could do worse. Of course, you could also do much better. But the thing exists, it caught my attention, and here we are.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Moanin' (1959)

BLUE NOTE 25 "BEST" ALBUMS* MONTH (JULY 2026)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 1999 Rudy Van Gelder Edition with 2 bonus tracks.

The album was originally self-titled, but later retitled Moanin' after the popularity of its opening composition.

For decades, Blakey exhibited an extraordinary gift for assembling young talent, encouraging them to write original compositions, and creating an environment where each musicians could develop their voice. In 1954, he said, "I’m gonna stay with the youngsters. When these get too old I’ll get some younger ones. Keeps the mind active." Over time, Moanin' has emerged as the hard bop album most closely associated with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and many agree that it is one of jazz's essential recordings. Highlights include the writing of Bobby Timmons and Benny Golson as well as the playing of Lee Morgan. Blakey's energic drumming is just right in terms of moving things forward while bringing it all together.

Blakey - drums
Lee Morgan - trumpet
Benny Golson - tenor saxophone
Bobby Timmons - piano
Jymie Merritt - bass

Original liner notes by Leonard Feather.

Reviews/ratings:

• Downbeat (★★★★): "There is nothing on this record that is really poor, except the Suite."
• High Fidelity: "provides a sound and solid jazz experience"
• Billboard: "It all swings and it can move."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

In addition to being named as one of Blue Note's 25 Best Albums, Moanin' placed at #5 on the udiscover.com list of the 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. The title track had previously been inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: I find myself agreeing with the quote from the DownBeat review: "There is nothing on this record that is really poor, except the Suite." My top picks are the title track and the 1946 standard, Come Rain Or Come Shine.

Bonus tracks: an alternate take of Moanin' and some studio chatter. Neither essential.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Free For All (1965)

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*In 1987, the European offices of Blue Note records compiled a list of the 25 Best Blue Note Albums in an effort to promote sales of classic Blue Note albums released on CD for the first time. Albums selected for the list were originally released in the years 1953-1967.

At the time, the Blue Note label had been subsumed by the EMI group. This allowed the selections to be made from other EMI labels, namely Capitol, United Artists, and Liberty. Therefore, the list-makers were able to look outside the Blue Note label and squeeze in titles by artists such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker, & Count Basie. It reads more like "albums we had the rights to, by 25 well-known jazz artists," making the list as much about artists as albums. As a marketing tool, it makes sense. As a starting place to build a Blue Note collection you could do worse. Of course, you could also do much better. But the thing exists, it caught my attention, and here we are.