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Celebrating Blue Note Records 75th With Delicious Vinyl
By
Johnny Coles
trumpet1926 - 1997

Melancholy / Solitude
1939
Might as well start at the inception of Blue Note Records with Alfred Lion's first release, BN 1. A record collector himself, he persuaded two pianists,

Albert Ammons
piano1907 - 1949

Meade Lux Lewis
piano1905 - 1964
"Melancholy" lopes along via Lewis' blues locomotive rhythm. This piece of improvised music displays the emergence of what would later be the Blue Note sound. Where an artist like

Fats Waller
piano1904 - 1943

Blue Train
1957
Except for the posthumously issued recordings with

Thelonious Monk
piano1917 - 1982

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Coltrane, in 1957 was already a star on the rise. He had gained attention with

Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991

Paul Chambers
bass, acoustic1935 - 1969

Johnny Griffin
saxophone, tenor1928 - 2008

Sonny Clark
piano1931 - 1963
By 1957, Lion and Alfred Wolff had establish the sound of Blue Note. That year they recorded 47 sessions. Coltrane chose a fine cast from Blue Note's stable of sidemen. Both bassist Chambers and drummer

Philly Joe Jones
drums1923 - 1985

Kenny Drew
piano1928 - 1993

Lee Morgan
trumpet1938 - 1972

Curtis Fuller
trombone1934 - 2021

Out To Lunch
1964
Fifty years after the release of Out To Lunch and the question remains; where would

Eric Dolphy
woodwinds1928 - 1964

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967

Albert Ayler
saxophone, tenor1936 - 1970

Andrew Hill
piano1931 - 2007

Richard Davis
bass, acoustic1930 - 2023

Tony Williams
drums1945 - 1997
Dolphy was admired by his outward peers, playing and recording with Coltrane,

Ornette Coleman
saxophone, alto1930 - 2015

Charles Mingus
bass, acoustic1922 - 1979
Besides Davis and Williams, Dolphy recruited trumpeter

Freddie Hubbard
trumpet1938 - 2008

Bobby Hutcherson
vibraphone1941 - 2016

Art Blakey
drums1919 - 1990

Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Out To Lunch contained five original compositions that come across as fresh today as they did in 1964. Except back then, it felt as if musicians required a license to play out. Dolphy's music is explorative, yet it maintains a harmonic center. His tribute to

Thelonious Monk
piano1917 - 1982

Jason Adasiewicz
vibraphone
Speak No Evil
1964
In between saxophonist

Wayne Shorter
saxophone1933 - 2023

Art Blakey
drums1919 - 1990

Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
This session found him with former Jazz Messenger

Freddie Hubbard
trumpet1938 - 2008

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967

Elvin Jones
drums1927 - 2004

Herbie Hancock
pianob.1940

Ron Carter
bassb.1937

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Like all great leaders, he allows his bandmates to shine. "Witch Hunt" and "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum" mix the rollicking tom-toms of Jones with the rhythmic percussive attack of Hancock, and Hubbard's sparkling trumpet.
Shorter's story beyond Miles includes the seminal fusion band Weather Report, and of course his acclaimed work in this new century.

Free For All
1964
You can play a game, sort of like fantasy baseball, with the various musicians that have been alumni of

Art Blakey
drums1919 - 1990

Wynton Kelly
piano1931 - 1971

Benny Green
pianob.1963

Bobby Timmons
piano1935 - 1974

Keith Jarrett
pianob.1945

Mulgrew Miller
piano1955 - 2013

Lee Morgan
trumpet1938 - 1972

Wynton Marsalis
trumpetb.1961

Woody Shaw
trumpet1944 - 1989

Kenny Dorham
trumpet1924 - 1972

Benny Golson
saxophone, tenor1929 - 2024

Billy Harper
saxophoneb.1943

Johnny Griffin
saxophone, tenor1928 - 2008
An informal poll of critics finds The Messengers' sextet (1961-64) of saxophonist

Wayne Shorter
saxophone1933 - 2023

Freddie Hubbard
trumpet1938 - 2008

Curtis Fuller
trombone1934 - 2021

Cedar Walton
piano1934 - 2013

Reggie Workman
bassb.1937
Just four tracks, the music is fierce and fiery. Opening with the title track, penned by Shorter, the energy never relents, neither does the saxophonist who blisters a solo not unlike that of his contemporary at the time,

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967

Unity
1965
Hammond B-3 Artist

Larry Young
organ, Hammond B31940 - 1978

Jimmy Smith
organ, Hammond B31925 - 2005

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967

Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991

Tony Williams
drums1945 - 1997
The high-water mark of his recording career was the 1965 session Unity one of three Blue Note discs released during his lifetime. Young died at the tender age of 38. Recorded one year after Into Somethin' (1964), the music is a showcase of the organist's discerning, dexterous approach and the advent of

Woody Shaw
trumpet1944 - 1989
Shaw who would soon be employed by jazz legends

Horace Silver
piano1928 - 2014

Jackie McLean
saxophone, alto1932 - 2006

Andrew Hill
piano1931 - 2007

McCoy Tyner
piano1938 - 2020
Shaw's brilliance does not though, upstage the music of Young. Here he manages the cumbersome organ as if it were a harpsichord, even covering the tricky

Thelonious Monk
piano1917 - 1982

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967

Elvin Jones
drums1927 - 2004

Joe Henderson
saxophone1937 - 2001

Sonny Rollins
saxophoneb.1930

Dexter Gordon
saxophone, tenor1923 - 1990
Tracks and Personnel
Melancholy / SolitudeTracks: Melancholy; Solitude.
Personnel: Meade "Lux" Lewis: piano
Blue Train
Tracks: Blue Train; Moment's Notice; Locomotion; I'm Old Fashioned; Lazy Bird.
Personnel: John Coltrane: tenor saxophone; Lee Morgan: trumpet; Curtis Fuller: trombone; Kenny Drew: piano; Paul Chambers: bass; Philly Joe Jones: drums.
Out To Lunch
Tracks: Hat And Beard; Something Sweet, Something Tender; Gazzelloni; Out To Lunch; Straight Up And Down.
Personnel: Eric Dolphy: alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet; Freddie Hubbard: trumpet; Bobby Hutcherson: vibes; Richard Davis: bass; Tony Williams: drums.
Speak No Evil
Tracks: Witch Hunt; Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum; Dance Cadaverous; Speak No Evil; Infant Eyes; Wild Flower.
Personnel: Wayne Shorter: tenor saxophone; Freddie Hubbard: trumpet; Herbie Hancock: piano; Ron Carter: bass; Elvin Jones: drums.
Free For All
Tracks: Free For All; Hammer Head; The Core; Pensativa.
Personnel: Wayne Shorter: tenor saxophone; Freddie Hubbard: trumpet; Curtis Fuller: trombone; Cedar Walton: piano; Reginal Workman: bass; Art Blakey: drums.
Unity
Tracks: Zoltan; Monk's Dream; If; The Moontrane; Softly As A Morning Sunrise; Beyond All Limits.
Personnel: Larry Young; organ; Woody Shaw: trumpet; Joe Henderson: tenor saxophone; Elvin Jones: drums.
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