Larry Young - Unity (1966)

Note: the CD I listened to was the original CD release from 1987.

Before we get to the music, let's talk about the iconic album cover. As Mike Dempsey stated in 2008 on the Design Week website:

Ultimate simplicity from designer Reid Miles, master of 1950s and 1960s album covers for the jazz label Blue Note Records. Throughout his time with the company, Miles pushed every single typographical configuration, giving the label an instantly recognisable personality. Put in an album rack today it would still raise an eyebrow as it looks remarkably fresh.

I first heard of Young on Bitches Brew and subsequently on some Grant Green releases, but this album was my introduction to him as a leader. For those of you into sub-genre labels, the music here is more post-bop than hard-bop without being overly avant-garde. And while it is Young's album, I think 20-year-old Woody Shaw steals the show, contributing half the songs and shining on every one of his solos. I like what's here even though I usually find myself leaning away from modal approaches. But here's a better description straight from the Blue Note website, far better than anything I could write in this space: The Jazz Organ Shake-Up: Larry Young's Unity.

Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff.

Young - organ
Woody Shaw - trumpet
Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone
Elvin Jones - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• DownBeat (★★★½) : "The music is delivered with assurance and drive"
• Billboard: "a sureshot for jazz fans"
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ♛★★★★ "a masterpiece"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★★

uDiscover Music ranked this album at #29 on its list of The 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums, calling the album "a masterpiece that represents the apotheosis of Young’s modal jazz aesthetic."

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

Tracks: My picks today are The Moontrane, Beyond All Limits, and the group's take on the 1920's standard, Softly As In A Morning Sunrise. Young really delivers on Monk's Dream.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.