Jimmy Smith at Club Baby Grand, Vol. 2 (1956)

Note: the CD I listened to was the mono 2008 Rudy Van Gelder Edition.

If a little bit is good, more is better.

Smith - organ
Thornel Schwartz - guitar
Donald Bailey - drums

Original liner notes by Leonard Feather. 2008 reissue liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.

Reviews/ratings:

• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

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

Tracks, with favorites indicated:

	Title	Writer(s)
1	Caravan	Juan Tizol & Duke Ellington	✔
2	Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing	Sammy Fain & Paul Francis Webster
3	Get Happy	Harold Arlen & Ted Koehler
4	It's All Right With Me	Cole Porter	✔

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

The Best of Jimmy Smith (1988)	Midnight Special (1961)
Keep On Comin' (1983)	Crazy! Baby (1960)
The Dynamic Duo (1967)	Houseparty (1958)
Back At The Chicken Shack (1963)	The Sermon! (1958)
Home Cookin' (1961)	At Club Baby Grand, Vol. 1 (1956)

Jimmy Smith at Club Baby Grand, Vol. 1 (1956)

Note: the CD I listened to was the mono 2008 Rudy Van Gelder Edition.

Smith's first live album, recorded on August 4, 1956 at Club Baby Grand in Wilmington, Delaware, just months after his first Blue Note releases. We're treated to Smith in a loose, exuberant club environment, where his astonishing technique is apparent. And, for the most part, the rhythm section gets the hell out of the way and lets Smith shine. More relaxed and less polished than Smith's studio records, sure, but it's solid work and, at times, electrifying.

Smith - organ
Thornel Schwartz - guitar
Donald Bailey - drums

Original liner notes by Leonard Feather. 2008 reissue liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard (74 out of 100): "skillful modern stylings strapped to a fundamental, deep-rooted beat."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

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

Tracks, with favorites indicated:

	Title	Writer(s)
1	Introduction	Mitch Thomas
2	Sweet Georgia Brown	Maceo Pinkard	✔
3	Where Or When	Rodgers & Hart
4	The Preacher	Horace Silver	✔
5	Rosetta	Earl Hines & Henri Woode

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

The Best of Jimmy Smith (1988)	Midnight Special (1961)
Keep On Comin' (1983)	Crazy! Baby (1960)
The Dynamic Duo (1967)	Houseparty (1958)
Back At The Chicken Shack (1963)	The Sermon! (1958)
Home Cookin' (1961)

Ike Quebec - Bossa Nova Soul Samba (1962)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2007 Rudy Van Gelder Edition with three bonus tracks.

According to a brief note in CashBox magazine, this album was the first Bossa Nova album released on the Blue Note label. Not particularly innovative, but quite good. Very similar to Getz albums of the time, except when Kenny Burrell gets a solo turn, then everything seems to kick up a notch.

Sadly, this was the last album Quebec recorded before his death in January 1963, at the age of 44, from lung cancer.

Quebec - tenor saxophone
Kenny Burrell - guitar
Wendell Marshall - bass
Willie Bobo - drums
Garvin Masseaux - chekere

Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard (★★★★): "deserving of some attention."
• DownBeat (★★★½): "a pleasant, unpretentious set of pretty ballads played with assurance and quiet passion."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★½
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

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

Tracks: My favorites are Lloro Tu Despedida, Me 'N You, Shu Shu, Blue Samba, and Linda Flor. Unusual for the time, there's nothing on this album written by Jobim.

Bonus tracks: alternate takes of Loie, Shu Shu, and Favela.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Easy Living (1987)
It Might As Well Be Spring (1964)
Blue & Sentimental (1963)
Heavy Soul (1962)

Bud Powell - The Amazing Bud Powell. Vol. 1 (1956)

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

Note: the CD I listened to was a Japanese UHQCD import. For more on the UHQCD format, check out these articles at CD Japan and/or Tracking Angle. And, yes, it sounds fantastic.

From the Blue Note website:

The amazing bebop piano genius Bud Powell made his most enduring recordings as a leader for Blue Note and was a catalyst for moving the label from the hot jazz it was founded on into the modern music being made by Powell, Thelonious Monk, Fats Navarro, and others. Powell’s 1949 & 1951 quintet & trio sessions were first released in 1952 as the 10” LP The Amazing Bud Powell, and later expanded as The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 (BLP 1503) when Blue Note moved to the 12” LP and launched the 1500 series in 1955.

I normally prefer hard bop to bebop (is that nitpicking?), but it's hard to ignore this hard-swingin' jazz piano landmark recording. Powell shines throughout and, on 4 of the 12 tracks, so does Sonny Rollins.

Credits and original liner notes by Leonard Feather.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard (77/100): "a milestone in progressive jazz recording"
• Downbeat (★★★★★): "recommended"
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1985): ★★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

In addition to being named as one of Blue Note's 25 Best Albums, this album placed at #14 on the udiscover.com list of the 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums

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

Tracks: Un Poco Loco is indeed a classic, but I wish they hadn't put all 3 takes in consecutive tracks to lead the album. Other highlights are It Could Happen To You (Alternate Master), A Night In Tunisia, Orinthology, and Parisian Thoroughfare.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Inner Fires: The Genius Of Bud Powell (1982)

---

*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.

As of this writing (30 July 2026), 19 of the 25 albums have already appeared on this blog, with at least one more on the way:

• Moanin' - Art Blakey, 1958, Blue Note
• Atomic Mr. Basie - Count Basie, 1958, Capitol
• Birth Of The Cool - Miles Davis, 1957, Capitol
• Somethin' Else - Cannonball Adderley, 1958, Blue Note
• Blue Train - John Coltrane, 1958, Blue Note
• Cool Struttin' - Sonny Clark, 1958, Blue Note
• Out To Lunch - Eric Dolphy, 1964, Blue Note
• Go - Dexter Gordon, 1962, Blue Note
• Maiden Voyage - Herbie Hancock, 1965, Blue Note
• Blue & Sentimental - Ike Quebec, 1962, Blue Note
• Midnight Blue - Kenny Burrell, 1963, Blue Note
• The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 - Bud Powell, 1956, Blue Note
• Workout - Hank Mobley, 1962, Blue Note
• Money Jungle - Duke Ellington, 1963, United Artists
• Newk's Time - Sonny Rollins, 1959, Blue Note
• Song For My Father - Horace Silver, 1965, Blue Note
• Speak No Evil - Wayne Shorter, 1965, Blue Note
• Back At The Chicken Shack - Jimmy Smith, 1963, Blue Note
• The Real McCoy - McCoy Tyner, 1967, Blue Note

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)

---

*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

---

*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)

---

*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)

---

*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

---

*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)

---

*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.

Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off (1962)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2007 Rudy Van Gelder Edition with 3 bonus tracks.

Hancock's debut as a leader at the age of 22. The album wasn't always well-received at the time by the critics (see below), but is now considered with more respect and appreciation. In my book, it's a fantastic, swinging hard bop album that features some legends in the group playing some outstanding compositions. Plus it's freakin' Herbie Hancock, Jazzer Laureate of the United States. (I just made up that title, but it should actually exist and Hancock should be so named.) He's still touring at age 86!

Hancock - piano
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet
Dexter Gordon - tenor saxophone
Butch Warren - bass
Billy Higgins - drums

Original liner notes by Leonard Feather.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "[Hancock's] work at the keyboard is impressive as are his talents as a writer."
• Stereo Review: "He is a forceful, well-organized pianist, but here he shows little stylistic originality."
• CashBox: "A nice showing."
• Downbeat (★★★½): "slightly disappointing...Still, there is much to recommend in this release."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★½
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

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

Tracks: It's a brave move to include all original compositions on a debut album; I'd have guessed the label might have insisted on a couple of standards. But if you can write stuff like Watermelon Man and Driftin' plus the beautiful ballad Alone And I, why would you need anything else?

Bonus tracks: Alternate takes of Watermelon Man, Three Bags Full, and Empty Pockets.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

Best of The Blue Note Years (1988)	Head Hunters (1973)
Round Midnight Soundtrack (1986)	Speak Like A Child (1968)
Lite Me Up (1982)	Maiden Voyage (1965)
Sunlight/Feets Don't Fail Me Now (1978/1979)	Empyrean Isles (1964)

Ike Quebec - It Might As Well Be Spring (1964)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2006 Rudy Van Gelder Edition.

This album was recorded on December 19, 1961, but the LP wasn't released until 1964. In the meantime, Quebec tragically died of lung cancer in January 1963 at age 45. Delayed album releases happened fairly often with Blue Note in the '60s as musicians recorded many brilliant sessions while Alfred Lion calmly stacked tape boxes like a jazz leprechaun sitting on a pot of gold. Some records appeared years or even decades later. In any case, this is quality stuff and well worth a listen, regardless of year.

I always use the word "meaty" to describe Quebec's tone, but I'm getting out my thesaurus and opting for "luxuriant" in today's post. The program is relaxed, romantic, and perfect for late night listening. Pairs quite well with Quebec albums Blue & Sentimental and/or Heavy Soul. Organist Freddie Roach is the perfect band member, knowing exactly when to shine and when to support. I gotta tell ya, I was completely unfamiliar with Quebec until I fell down the RVG Editions rabbit hole around 2020. And boy-oh-boy am I happy to have finally heard his stuff. I simply love his tone. Had he lived, he would have no doubt given other soul-jazz saxophone players such as Stanley Turrentine and Lou Donaldson a run for their money throughout the decade.

Quebec - tenor saxophone
Freddie Roach - organ
Milt Hinton - bass
Al Harewood - drums

Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff.

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "The jazzophiles will want this one."
• DownBeat (★★★★): "the playing is as relaxed and spontaneous, yet cohesive, as if these were four steady companions."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½
• 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: The album is brief (35:37), but like Quebec's playing, it is all very economical - no wasted space here. Of the four standards and two Quebec originals, the highlight is the beautiful title track, a wonderful Rodgers & Hammerstein ballad originally from the 1945 film, State Fair.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Easy Living (1987)
Blue & Sentimental (1963)
Heavy Soul (1962)

Donald Byrd – Live: Cookin' With Blue Note At Montreux (2022)

MIZELL BROTHERS MONTH (APRIL 2026)

Recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland, July 5, 1973. While the Mizell Brothers didn't produce this particular Byrd album, they were in the band on that date. Also in the band were four of Byrd's students who would go on to form the Blackbyrds.

From the Blue Note website:

In July 1973, Blue Note Records headed to Montreux, Switzerland to showcase several of the label’s stars at the Montreux Jazz Festival. That summer, Byrd was fresh off the release of his hit crossover fusion album Black Byrd, the first of his innovative and incredibly successful studio collaborations with producer Larry Mizell. But in a live setting the band had a rawer, harder edge, as this searing set attests. Live: Cookin’ with Blue Note at Montreux is released on what would have been the legendary trumpeter’s 90th birthday — December 9, 2022.

Even though Black Byrd had just been released, the band only plays the title track from that album here. The remainder of the album sounds like the whole band had been listening only to In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew for months because the arrangements on this live date greatly resemble those pioneered by Miles & Company a few years earlier. Not as slick as the Byrd/Mizell studio albums and the rougher live edge is just gritty enough to enjoy. I dig the whole album and am hypnotized into a fusion trance while listening. I'd love to read a first-hand account of what that show was like. Other performers at the festival that night included Alphonse Mouzon, Bobbi Humphrey, Bobby Hutcherson, Marlena Shaw, and Ronnie Foster. What a line up!

CD liner notes from Larry Mizell and Don Was, the president of Blue Note Records.

Byrd – trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals
Fonce Mizell – trumpet, vocals
Allan Barnes – tenor saxophone, flute
Nathan Davis – tenor and soprano saxophone
Kevin Toney – electric piano
Larry Mizell – synthesizers
Barney Perry – electric guitar
Henry Franklin – electric bass
Keith Killgo – drums and vocals
Ray Armando – congas and percussion

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

Tracks: The album kicks off with the funky Black Byrd, followed by a stellar cover of Stevie Wonder's You've Got It Bad Girl, then three otherwise unrecorded Byrd originals: The East, Kwame, and Poco-Mania. Kwame has an annoying start with some unnecessarily strident synth sounds, but eventually settles into a more relaxed groove. As with the Miles Davis albums mentioned above, just hit the play button and let it cook. 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

Love Byrd (1981)	Street Lady (1974)
Caricatures (1976)	Black Byrd (1973)
Stepping Into Tomorrow (1975)	A New Perspective (1964)

Donald Byrd - Caricatures (1976)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2003 Rare Groove Series Edition.

MIZELL BROTHERS MONTH (APRIL 2026)

More smooth funk-jazz music from Byrd and the Mizells. But by 1976, disco was in full swing and that style of dance music definitely had an impact on this recording. Is it still jazz? Depends who you ask and how seriously they take themselves. But for a guy like me who simply can't stand still as the CD spins, Caricatures is hard to dismiss as it fully commits to the bit. The grooves feel so good and danceable you forget to miss the lack of traditional improv. It may not be jazz in the pure sense, but it is, undeniably, a good time. I guess that was the point and one I can fully support.

The album didn't carry any liner notes, sadly. Caricatures was Byrd's final album for the Blue Note label before moving to Elektra. It was also Byrd's fifth and final release produced by the Mizell Brothers. And if you are of a certain age and inclination, the cover artist is immediately identifiable as Al Hirschfeld.

Reviews/ratings:

• Record World: "disco arrangements expertly performed"
• High Fidelity: "Byrd's trumpet playing has indeed become a caricature of the crisp inventiveness of his earlier years."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #60
• Billboard Jazz: #7
• Billboard R&B: #12
• CashBox: #133
• CashBox Jazz: #6
• Record World Jazz: #5

Tracks: Granted, Blue Note didn't know anything about 12" dance remixes nor marketing to the disco crowd, but some of these tracks should have charted on Billboard's dance charts. Ah, well. My top picks are the title track, Return Of the King, and Onward 'Til Morning. Plus I'd love an instrumental version of Dance Band, because with that title, those grooves, and a tasty solo from Ernie Watts, the track is more of a command than a suggestion. There's nothing to skip, but the disc has a lull in the middle with Science Funktion and a cover of Dancing In the Street. 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Love Byrd (1981)
Stepping Into Tomorrow (1975)
Street Lady (1974)
Black Byrd (1973)
A New Perspective (1964)

Donald Byrd - Black Byrd (1973)

MIZELL BROTHERS MONTH (APRIL 2026)

This album marks the first collaboration between Donald Byrd and the Mizells. In 1973, after years of more traditional hard bop and post-bop jazz, Byrd, who by then was teaching at Howard University, decided to reinvent himself. The collaborative took the current commercial trends in soul & funk music and used those grooves with jazz instrumentation. It wasn't quite 'Dylan goes electric at the Newport Folk Festival' but it was quite a departure. I'm forever grateful for Byrd's pivot here because I deeply dig this groove-first, hook-driven music built around electric piano and rhythm section with a smattering of familiar jazz tropes. This initial album has quite a bit of Byrd's playing and singing; those particular contributions seemed to become less and less prevalent as the Byrd/Mizell collaboration continued. The album is more about creating an environment than showing off technical skills and I am certainly mighty comfy in such environs.

There's quite a few familiar names among the session players, including some Crusaders:

The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the now-defunct category of Best R&B Instrumental Performance. It was best-selling album of all time on the Blue Note label until surpassed by Come Away With Me by Norah Jones.

Original liner notes by noted syndicated columnist Gertrude Gipson.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "melodically flowing and perfect for grooving at home"
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #36
• Billboard Jazz: #1
• Billboard R&B: #2
• Record World Jazz: #1

All tracks written or co-written, produced, and arranged by Larry Mizell. Ranked in order of personal preference:

1. Flight Time
2. Sky High
3. Love's So Far Away
4. Black Byrd (#19 R&B, #88 pop) I'm guessing this was chosen for a single release because of its similarity to the 1971 smash hit, Theme From Shaft.
5. Mr. Thomas
6. Where Are We Going?
7. Slop Jar Blues

Yes, I generally prefer the tracks that have very few or no vocals. At least I'm consistent.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Love Byrd (1981)
Stepping Into Tomorrow (1975)
Street Lady (1974)
A New Perspective (1964)