Hank Mobley No Room for Squares

Blue Note Analogue Productions CBNJ 84149 SA Hybrid-SACD

Jazz classic in audiophile sound quality

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Originally released in 1963, No Room for Squares features Lee Morgan and Donald Byrd on trumpet, Andrew Hill and Herbie Hancock on piano, John Ore and Butch Warren on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. A masterpiece.

Hank Mobley Workout

Blue Note Analogue Productions CBNJ 84080 SA Hybrid-SACD

Blue Note jazz classic in audiophile sound quality

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During his stint with Miles Davis, Mobley's four Blue Note sessions with bandmates Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers are considered his finest and most lyrical work. Grant Green and Philly Joe Jones complete the group on this gem.

"...The recording is nicely holographic, full of dynamic life and harmonic richness, solidly 'there,' involving." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, January 2012

Hank Mobley, tenor sax - Grant Green, guitar - Wynton Kelly, piano - Paul Chambers, bass - Philly Joe Jones, drums

Lee Morgan Lee-Way

Blue Note Analogue Productions CBNJ 84034 SA Hybrid-SACD

Blue Note jazz classic in audiophile sound quality

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Trumpeter Lee Morgan was the album´s leader, but this April 1960 recording could just as easily have been led by any of the musicians on the date - alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Paul Chambers or drummer Art Blakey. Each musician makes a vital contribution as a soloist on this album, but it's their collective sound that takes your breath away. On Lee-way, you hear a complex new sound that's more soulful and ambitious than previous Blue Note hard bop releases. Much of the album's beauty is in how the different artists sound playing as one. Morgan's machine gun trumpet almost mellows against McLean's sharp alto edge. In turn, McLean's phrasing takes on a air of salvation when combined with Timmons' strong church-like lines. And Timmons' playing is less percussive here than it is with the Jazz Messengers, thanks largely to the precise sound of Chambers' mid-range bass lines. Art Blakey does his part, keeping everyone moving with his nightstick drum patterns. Leeway was recorded at a critical moment in the careers of these musicians. A month earlier, Morgan, Blakey and Timmons recorded The Big Beat with the rest of the Jazz Messengers. Two months' earlier McLean recorded Music from the Connection with Freddie Redd, in which McLean exhibited a more assertive and almost political sound on his alto. Three months earlier, Timmons recorded This Here Is Bobby Timmons, which heralded a new, neo-gospel piano style. As for Chambers, he had just returned from a rigorous spring tour of Europe backing Miles Davis and an increasingly independent John Coltrane.

Horace Parlan Movin´ & Groovin´

Blue Note Analogue Productions CBNJ 84028 SA Hybrid-SACD

Blue Note jazz classic in audiophile sound quality

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This 1960 trio date was pianist Parlan's first of many great releases for Blue Note. The Pittsburgh native, who overcame polio as a child that left his right hand crippled, had gained some serious props with his contributions on two of Charles Mingus' best albums the year prior (Mingus Ah Um, Blues And Roots), and was now ready to step out on his own. Choosing to tackle mostly standards, Parlan channels his idol Bud Powell's classic trio dates with the able assistance of Blue Note regulars Sam Jones, bass and drummer Al Harewood. The result is an eclectic mix, interpreting the works of Tadd Dameron, Duke Ellington, Milt Jackson and Burke-Van Heussen plus a Parlan original, "Up In Cynthia's Room," which became one of his signature pieces.

Horace Parlan, piano - Al Harewood, drums - Sam Jones, bass

Ike Quebec Blue & Sentimental

Blue Note Analogue Productions CBNJ 84098 SA Hybrid-SACD

Blue Note jazz classic in audiophile sound quality

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Ike Quebec's timeless, big-toned tenor was a frequent visitor to Rudy Van Gelder's studio in the early sixties. But this album from December 1961 with spare, soulful backing from Grant Green, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones is his masterpiece. The leaner setting works perfectly, evoking an aura of relaxation and monumentality, with the deepest blue of accents.

Originally released in 1962.

Ike Quebec, tenor sax & piano - Grant Green, guitar - Paul Chambers, bass - Philly Joe Jones, drums

Ike Quebec It might as well be Spring

Blue Note Analogue Productions CBNJ 84105 SA Hybrid-SACD

Jazz classic in audiophile sound quality

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Two weeks after Ike Quebec recorded his comeback album Heavy Soul for Blue Note, he was back at the Van Gelder Studio with the same band, making a second album. The confidence paid off because It Might As Well Be Spring is every bit the classic the first album proved to be. Quebec's big-toned, vulnerable tenor playing is a thing to behold, as his heart-stopping version of the title tune, "Lover Man" and "Willow Weep For Me" attest. "Easy – Don't Hurt" is one of his blues masterpieces.

Recorded in 1961.

Ike Quebec, saxophone (tenor) - Al Harewood, drums - Milt Hinton, bass - Freddie Roach, organ

Jackie McLean Capuchin Swing

Blue Note Analogue Productions CBNJ 84038 SA Hybrid-SACD

Blue Note jazz classic in audiophile sound quality

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Considered one of his strongest Blue Note outings, Capuchin Swing basically forced Jackie McLean to bring in some heavyweights to help define and deliver his vision. First and foremost was Blue Mitchell’s forceful trumpet, chosen to counterpoint the leader’s alto, that was in a feisty mood of it’s own throughout the sessions. Having Walter Bishop, Jr. on piano, Paul Chambers’ bass and Art Taylor banging skins frees the leader’s mind of worry rhythm-wise, allowing him and Mitchell to co-explore new heights of interplay. The intensity on McLean originals such as “Francisco”, “Condition Blue” and the title tune are both riveting and sometimes draining, while Bishop contributes both “Just For Now” plus another dedication to the label founder, “On The Lion”.

Jackie McLean Jackie´s Bag

Blue Note Analogue Productions CBNJ 84051 SA Hybrid-SACD

Blue Note jazz classic in audiophile sound quality

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A masterpiece culled from two different sessions, separated by 20 months.

Tina Brooks, sax (tenor) - Donald Byrd, trumpet - Paul Chambers, bass - Sonny Clark, piano - Kenny Drew, piano - Philly Joe Jones, drums - Jackie McLean, sax (alto) - Billy Mitchell, sax (tenor) - Blue Mitchell, trumpet Art Taylor, drums

Jackie McLean New Soil

Blue Note Analogue Productions CBNJ 84013 SA Hybrid-SACD

Blue Note jazz classic in audiophile sound quality

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New Soil wasn't the first session Jackie McLean recorded for Blue Note, but it was the first one released, and as the title suggests, the first glimpses of McLean's desire to push beyond the limits of bop are already apparent. They're subtle, of course, and nowhere near as pronounced, as they would be in just a few years' time, but – as with the 1959 material later issued on Jackie's Bag – hints of Ornette Coleman's stream-of-consciousness melodic freedom are beginning to find their way into McLean's improvisations. His playing is just a touch more angular than the ear expects, especially given the very bluesy nature of pieces like McLean's 11-minute vamp, "Hip Strut," and pianist Walter Davis Jr.'s infectious boogie-woogie "Greasy." Coleman's influence is most apparent on McLean's "Minor Apprehension," where the freewheeling, Coleman-esque main theme is paralleled by trumpeter Donald Byrd in a definite nod to Don Cherry.

Jackie McLean, alto sax - Donald Byrd, trumpet - Paul Chambers, bass - Walter Davis Jr., piano - Pete LaRoca, drums

Ike Quebec Bossa Nova Soul Samba

Blue Note Analogue Productions CBNJ 84114 SA Hybrid-SACD

Blue Note jazz classic in audiophile sound quality

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An intimate session which has soul and captures the smooth and loungy rhythms of Brazil. Just beautiful. just luscious.