Lee Morgan: Vol.2 (1956) Blue Note1541 – King, Japan 1979

This gallery contains 15 photos.

Selection: Whisper Not (Golson)                                                                          … Continue reading →

Johnny Griffin: The Congregation (1957) Blue Note/ UA Replica Series 1970s

This gallery contains 7 photos.

UPDATE Jan.5: Johnny Griffin at Ronnie Scotts, 1969 Harry M photo added. Selection: Latin Quarter (John Jenkins) .  .  . Artists Johnny Griffin, tenor sax; Sonny Clark, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Kenny Dennis, drums.; recorded Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, … Continue reading →

Randy Weston: Little Niles (1958) United Artists

This gallery contains 8 photos.

Selection: Little Niles (Weston) .  .  . Artists Ray Copeland, Idrees Sulieman, trumpet; Melba Liston, trombone; Johnny Griffin, tenor sax; Randy Weston, piano; George Joyner, bass; Charlie Persip, drums. Recorded RCA Studios, NYC, October, 1958, recording engineer Ray Hall. Hall … Continue reading →

Thad Jones: Motor City Scene (1959) United Artists/ HMV France

This gallery contains 5 photos.

Selection: No Refill . . . Artists Thad Jones, flugelhorn, cornet; Al Grey, trombone; Billy Mitchell, tenor sax; Tommy Flanagan, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Elvin Jones, drums. Recorded at Nola Studios, NYC, October 24 & 31, 1959 Music: After recently … Continue reading →

Jutta Hipp: At Hickory House Vol 1 (1956) Blue Note/UA 1975

This gallery contains 11 photos.

After pushing at the boundaries of jazz into the fusion-heavy 1970’s, a new acquisition offered an opportunity to walk back a decade or more, to early beginnings of Blue Note, and the brief career of Jutta Hipp. Selection: Dear Old Stockholm … Continue reading →

More Vertical Tasting: A Re-issue Race – any winners?

This gallery contains 12 photos.

A different kind of vertical tasting, the common thread is the same original Blue Note recording BPL 4063 “Whistle Stop” first issued in 1961, in only mono. Featuring Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley (Mobley!), Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe, … Continue reading →

Walter Davis Jr: Davis Cup (1959) Blue Note UA

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Selection: Minor Mind (Walter Davis) … Artists: Donald Byrd (trumpet) Jackie McLean (alto sax) Walter Davis Jr. (piano) Sam Jones (bass) Art Taylor (drums) recorded Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, August 2, 1959 Artist of Note – Walter … Continue reading →

Bill Evans Jim Hall: Undercurrent (1962) Toshiba-EMI

This gallery contains 17 photos.

A tale of the pursuit of one recording, the search for the best pressing, and a few lessons learned along the way. Prepare for a deep dive, and beware of currents. The story so far… In the early ’60s, United Artists … Continue reading →

Lee Morgan: The Sixth Sense (1967) Blue Note/Liberty UA

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Selection: Short Count (Morgan) . .  .  . The mandatory go-to boogaloo Morgan  track is  Psychedelic,  a sort of Sidewinder III with a Tijuana drive-thru/ Tex-Mex flavour ,  but other tracks stray into more interesting territory. My pick is the urban car-horn brio of Short Count: choppy … Continue reading →

Bobby Hutcherson: Cookin’ With Blue Note at Montreux (1973) Blue Note/UA

This gallery contains 6 photos.

Selection: Moontrane (Shaw) .  .  . Artists: Woody Shaw (trumpet) Bobby Hutcherson (vibes) Cecil Bernard (piano) Ray Drummond (bass) Larry Hancock (drums) recorded at  “Montreux Jazz Festival”, “Casino De Montreux”, Switzerland, July 5, 1973 Bobby and Woody we know, but what … Continue reading →

Bobby Hutcherson: Cirrus (1974) Blue Note/United Artists (updated)

This gallery contains 6 photos.

  Selection: Rosewood (Woody Shaw) . Artists Woody Shaw (trumpet) Emanuel Boyd, Harold Land (tenor sax, flute) Bobby Hutcherson (vibes, marimba) William Henderson (piano, electric piano) Ray Drummond (bass) Larry Hancock (drums) Kenneth Nash (percussion) recorded at Wally Heider Recording … Continue reading →

Bobby Hutcherson: Spiral (1965/8) Blue Note/UA

This gallery contains 6 photos.

 Selection: Jasper (1965) Artists On Jasper: Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) Sam Rivers (tenor, soprano sax, bass clarinet, flute) Bobby Hutcherson (vibes, marimba) Andrew Hill (piano) Richard Davis (bass) Joe Chambers (drums)recorded  Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, April 3, 1965 Other … Continue reading →

Bobby Hutcherson: Head On (1971) Blue Note/United Artists

This gallery contains 4 photos.

Selection: Mtume (Hutcherson)  Mtume  is a Swahili bantu word meaning  “the messenger”. You knew this of course. It is the only Hutcherson composition on the album, the rest of which is attributed to pianist Todd Cochran. Artists Oscar Brashear (trumpet, flugelhorn) George Bohanon, Louis … Continue reading →

Stanley Turrentine with The 3 Sounds: Blue Hour (1960) Blue Note/ UA repress

This gallery contains 4 photos.

Selection: Since I fell For You (Johnson) .  .  . Selection Bonus: I Want A Little Girl (Moll- Mencher) .  .  . Artists: Stanley Turrentine (tenor saxophone) Gene Harris (piano) Andrew Simpkins (bass) Bill Dowdy (drums) recorded Rudy Van Gelder … Continue reading →

Updated: more rips! Jackie McLean: Right Now! (1965) Blue Note/Liberty UA

This gallery contains 9 photos.

September 7, UPDATE! “Eleven out Ten LJC readers who expressed a preference asked for more comparative rips, to hear for themselves what alternative editions sound like”. Actually, I just made that up, but seeing as how a lot of what … Continue reading →

Jackie McLean: Hipnosis (1962/67) Blue Note/ UA (1978)

This gallery contains 11 photos.

Further adventures in vintage Blue-Note-on-a-Budget twofer series… with more McLean, great stuff,  and some not so good news for Hubbard fans with the “other” twofer series…read on. Selection 1: Slow Poke Artists: Grachan Moncur III (trombone) Jackie McLean (alto saxophone) Lamont Johnson … Continue reading →

Jackie McLean: Jacknife (1965-6) Blue Note/ UA

This gallery contains 10 photos.

Leader of the pack of United Artists’ Blue Note “twofer” Reissue series. I started writing this a while back, then it slipped my attention as I went chasing Prestige. In the midst of the holiday season, I thought I might … Continue reading →

More alternative madness: MM45 vs ’70s United Artists UPDATE: Toshiba added

This gallery contains 19 photos.

UPDATE February 3rd: LJC reader from The Netherlands Mattyman has posted in a rip from his Toshiba 1992 reissue of Open Sesame. As a bonus he has included some whizzy waveform pictures. See and hear for yourself at foot of … Continue reading →

Horace Silver: Sterling Silver (1956-63) Liberty UA 1979

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Selection 1: Senor Blues (alt. take) (EP version, first release on LP) Artists: Silver/ Mobley/ Byrd/ Watkins/ Hayes Selection 2: Tippin‘  (EP version, first release on LP) Artists: Silver/ Byrd/ Cook/ Taylor/ Hayes Artists Sterling Silver features various live and studio recordings from … Continue reading →

Booker Ervin: Back From The Gig (1963/68) Blue Note / UA

This gallery contains 5 photos.

Selection: Home in Africa (Ronnie Boykins) The track selection Home in Africa is credited to Ronnie Boykins, best known as Sun Ra’s bass player, one more at Home in Outer Space. Artists: Johnny Coles (trumpet) Booker Ervin (tenor saxophone) Horace Parlan (piano) Grant … Continue reading →

Grant Green: Green is Beautiful (1970) Blue Note Liberty UA

This gallery contains 4 photos.

Selection:  Ain’t I funky now (James Brown) Artists Blue Mitchell (trumpet) Claude Bartee (tenor saxophone) Emmanuel Riggins or Neal Creque (organ) Grant Green (guitar) Jimmy Lewis (electric bass) Idris Muhammad (drums) Candido (congas) Richie “Pablo” Landrum (bongos) recorded Rudy Van … Continue reading →

Freddie Hubbard: Open Sesame (1960) austerity edition, with poll

This gallery contains 11 photos.

Head to Head: A while back I auditioned a modern audiophile pressing against an original vintage first pressing, and came up with some surprising answers, and stirred up a hornets nest in the process. I count controversy a success, so back into … Continue reading →

Bill Potts: The Jazz Soul of Porgy and Bess (1959) United Artists

This gallery contains 16 photos.

Updated: February 26, 2019 (replacement rip Davis/ Ain’t Necessarily So – Columbia CL1274 Mono Six-Eye) An LJC first head to head between two arrangers – Bill Potts and Gil Evans  – in their treatment of the Gershwin classic Porgy and … Continue reading →

Duke Ellington: Money Jungle (1962) UK United Artists

This gallery contains 6 photos.

Last Updated:February 9, 2020 Selection The Money Jungle .  .  . Artists Duke Ellington, piano; Charles Mingus, bass;  Max Roach, drums; recorded at Sound Makers, New York City, on September 17, 1962, recording engineer Bill Schwartau, produced by Alan Douglas. Music Another of … Continue reading →

Zoot Sims Stretching Out (1958) UA

This gallery contains 5 photos.

Artists Harry Edison (tp) Bob Brookmeyer (vtb) Zoot Sims (ts) Al Cohn (ts, bars) Hank Jones (p) Freddie Green (g) Eddie Jones (b) Charlie Persip (d) recorded NYC, December 27, 1958, – between Christmas and New Year. Music We are on a … Continue reading →