Hank Mobley - The Flip (1969) [re-rip]

Late work by tenor giant Hank Mobley - and a really unique session that stands out from his other Blue Note work of the time! The set was recorded in Paris with an ultra-hip lineup - one that features Dizzy Reece on trumpet and Slide Hampton on trombone - both fresh players alongside Hank's work on tenor sax, making for really wonderful phrasing and timing in the front line! The bottom's pretty great, too - with wicked rhythms from Philly Joe Jones on drums, at a level that bounces around with a growing sense of soul - yet still has all the complex colors of Mobley's classic work. The balance is beautiful - as fresh as the image on the cover - and the album's one that we'd rank right up there with The Phantom by Duke Pearson and Slow Drag by Donald Byrd - overlooked gems that show some great Blue Note growth in the late 60s. Titles include "The Flip", "Feelin' Folksy", and "Snappin' Out".  © Dusty Groove, Inc.

Blue Note, BST 84329, 1970

Recorded 12th July, 1969 at Studio Barclay, Paris, France

Musicians:

Hank Mobley - Tenor Saxophone

Dizzy Reece - Trumpet

Slide Hampton - Trombone

Vince Benedetti - Piano

Alby Cullaz - Bass

Philly Joe Jones - Drums

Tracks:
A1. The Flip (9:02)
A2. Feelin' Folksy (8:29)
B1. Snappin' Out (7:13)
B2. 18th Hole (5:59)
B3. Early Morning Stroll (6:52)

All compositions by Hank Mobley 

Total Time: 37:35 

Credits:
Producer - Francis Wolff
Recording Engineer - Jacques Yves Barral
Rerecording Engineer, Lacquer Cut - Rudy van Gelder
Cover Design - Bob Venosa, Havona
Art Direction - Frank Gauna
Liner Notes - Leonard Feather 

Leonard Feather once hailed Hank Mobley as "the middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone." Mobley was better than that. An exquisite soul messenger, Mobley was criticized for not being as aggressive, voluminous, or trailblazing as his contemporaries. Indeed, he was not. Instead, his music was steeped in care, precision and nuances. In Mobley's hands, such treatment often dazzled, as on this Blue Note LP, The Flip. He's supported by an excellent crew of international musicians, including Dizzy Reece on trumpet, Slide Hampton on trombone, Vince Benedetti on piano, Alby Cullaz on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. All the tunes on The Flip were composed by Mobley and are built around his strengths of soul, swing, and subtlety. Listen to the opening statements of the title track, the punch of the horns, the dance of the rhythm section, and the sheer joy of it all. It's a vicious groove by all accounts, as the members revel in this boogaloo scene. The charms do not end with Mobley, either. Hampton's trombone wailings are often clever and valuable throughout the album. Check out Reece's trumpet solos on "Snappin' Out," and "18th Hole." Jones, as always, is beyond compliments. The true surprise on this album is the pianist, Benedetti. His accompaniments are in excellent taste, as are those of Cullaz. True, this album and its composer will never be within the ranks of the most influential, the most revered, or even the most downloaded. Fine. Besides, as a provocateur of beauty, Mobley is in a class all his own. ~ excerpts from Germein Linares, All About Jazz.

LINK

18th Hole

Ravi Coltrane - Spirit Fiction (2012)

A career on the saxophone with one of the most freethinking saxophonists in music history for a father has to be a tough call. Now 46, Ravi Coltrane, son of John, has often chosen to be a sympathetic sideman rather than the boss. But his Blue Note Records debut as a leader feels like a giant step. The tracks are split between two groups (a quartet with Luis Perdomo on piano, and a superb quintet with Geri Allen at the keys, and Ralph Alessi on trumpet), playing an arrestingly original postbop repertoire, plus covers of pieces by Ornette Coleman and Paul Motian. There are delicate improv conversations between Coltrane and Alessi, passages in which Geri Allen and drummer Eric Harland uncannily recall the sound of the young Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams in the Miles Davis quintet, quiet tone-bending sax ruminations and a deliciously ramshackle version of Ornette Coleman's Check Out Time. It genuinely sounds like a coming-of-age for Ravi Coltrane. ~ John Fordham, The Guardian. 

Blue Note Records, 509999 18937 2 7, 2012
Recorded (#1,3,4,7,11) at Bennett's Studios, Englewood, New Jersey
Recorded (#2,5,8,9,10) at Sear Sound, New York City
Recorded (#6) at Systems Two Recording, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Ravi Coltrane - Tenor & Soprano Saxes
Joe Lovano - Tenor Sax (#9,10)
Luis Perdomo - Piano (#1,3,4,7,11)
Drew Gress - Bass (#1,3,4,7,11)
E.J. Strickland - Drums (#1,3,4,6,7,11)
Ralph Alessi - Trumpet (#2,5,8,9)
Geri Allen - Piano (#2,5,8-10)
James Genus - Bass (#2,5,8,9)
Eric Harland - Drums (#2,5,8,9)

Tracks:
01. Roads Cross {Gress, Strickland, Perdomo, Coltrane} (5:04)
02. Klepto {Ralph Alessi} (7:30)
03. Spirit Fiction {Gress, Strickland, Perdomo, Coltrane} (52:28)
04. The Change, My Girl {Ravi Coltrane} (6:46)
05. Who Wants Ice Cream {Ralph Alessi} (6:32)
06. Spring & Hudson {Ravi Coltrane} (2:21)
07. Cross Roads {Gress, Strickland, Perdomo, Coltrane} (5 (4:03)
08. Yellow Cat {Ralph Alessi} (6:50)
09. Check Out Time {Ornette Coleman} (7:26)
10. Fantasm {Paul Motian} (4:08)
11. Marilyn & Tammy {Ravi Coltrane} (5:42) 

Total Time: 58:57 

Credits:
Producer, Mixing - Ravi Coltrane
Producer, Mixing, Liner Notes - Joe Lovano
Executive-Producer - Bruce Lundvall
Recording Engineer - Dave Kowalski (#1,3,4,7,11)
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Chris Allen (#2,5,8-10)
Recording Engineer - Joe Marchiano (#6)
Mixing Engineer - Ravi Coltrane, Steve Genewick (#1,3,4,6,7,11)
Mixing Engineer - Joe Lovano (#2,5,8-10)
Mastering Engineer - Allan Tucker
Art Direction, Design - Hayden Miller
Photography - Darlene Devita 

Spirit Fiction

Chihiro Yamanaka - Somethin' Blue (2014)

Chihiro Yamanaka is an internationally renowned, hard-swinging jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, whose fluid, athletic technique has drawn rave reviews and very favorable comparisons to legends such as Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. She is based in New York. At age four she began formal piano studies. While she began with classical music and still practices it, she shifted her focus to jazz studies in high school. After graduation she attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She played with a wide range of musicians in Boston and in New York before heading back home to Japan after she graduated from Berklee in 2000 with honors. In 2014, Yamanaka moved from Verve to the Universal-owned Blue Note label just in time for its 75th anniversary. Her debut, Somethin' Blue, was a sextet offering, and in addition to originals offered striking renditions of Bud Powell's "Un Poco Loco" and Herbie Hancock's "I Have a Dream." It reached into the Top Five on the jazz charts. ~ Extract by Thom Jurek, AMG. 

I've always felt that Yamanaka's music is very aggressive. However, unlike aggressive musicians who tend to focus on technique or miss the mark, she tries to play the melody well, which I think that's why I never get tired of Yamanaka's music, even if I keep buying more of her albums. ~ kazukazu, Amazon.com. [Translated From Japanese] 

Blue Note Records, UCCQ-1016, 2014
Recorded 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd April, 2014 at Eastside Sound, New York City 

Musicians:
Chihiro Yamanaka - Piano, Keyboards
Benny Benack III - Trumpet
Jaleel Shaw - Saxophone
Lage Lund - Guitar
Yasushi Nakamura - Bass
Kendrick Scott - Drums
Mark Whitfield Jr. - Drums (#11) 

Tracks:
01. Somethin' Blue {Chihiro Yamanaka} (8:31)
02. Orleans {Chihiro Yamanaka} (4:32)
03. I Have A Dream {Herbie Hancock} (5:58)
04. Un Poco Loco {Bud Powell} (5:51)
05. Funiculi Funicula {Traditional} (6:29)
06. A Secret Code {Chihiro Yamanaka} (4:56)
07. Pinhole Camera {Chihiro Yamanaka} (5:44)
08. For Real {Chihiro Yamanaka} (5:30)
09. On The Shore {Chihiro Yamanaka} (6:43)
10. You're A Fool, Aren't You {Chihiro Yamanaka} (5:55)
11. Go Go Go {Chihiro Yamanaka} (4:41) 

Total Time: 64:54 

Credits:
Producer, Arranger - Chihiro Yamanaka
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Lou Holtzman
Recording, Mixing, Photography - Eric Elterman
Mastering Engineer - Greg Calbi
Photography - Kana Doi
Art Direction - Hibiki Tokiwa 

Pinhole Camera

Chihiro Yamanaka Somethin' Blue Quintet - Live At Blue Note Tokyo (2014)

Popular pianist Chihiro Yamanaka is visiting Japan with her latest album, Somethin' Blue. Her fellow performers are Benny Benack (trumpet), Jaleel Shaw (alto sax), Yoshi Waki ​​(bass), and Kendrick Scott (drums). I was able to enjoy a fun and thrilling performance with her familiar New York friends. She is often seen playing in a piano trio, so it was refreshing to see her leading a two-horn quintet. Benack is a rising star who was praised by Wynton Marsalis in 2011 as "one of the jazz greats of the next generation." Although he still retains the appearance of a boy, his ability to freely play anything from a deep bass to a bursting high note is top-notch. Something Blue also commemorates the 75th anniversary of the founding of the prestigious Blue Note Records. In the former, Jaleel plays alto sax, while drummer Kendrick adds further momentum to the band with a variety of beats. The audience was thrilled by Yamanaka's incorporation of glissandos to get the crowd excited, and Kendrick's cymbal legato, reminiscent of Billy Higgins, one of the house drummers of Blue Note in the '60s. ~ Extract by Kazunori Harada, bluenote.co.jp. 

Blue Note Records, none, 2014
Recorded 26th September, 2014 at The Blue Note Tokyo, Japan 

Musicians:
Chihiro Yamanaka - Piano, Keyboards
Benny Benack III - Trumpet
Jaleel Shaw - Saxophone
Yoshi Waki - Bass
Kendrick Scott - Drums

Tracks:
1. For Real {Yamanaka} (11:55)
2. Funiculi Funicula {Traditional} (9:40)
3. Pinhole Camera {Yamanaka} (9:21)
4. Somethin' Blue {Yamanaka} (2:11)
5. Yagibushi {Traditional} (11:17) 

Total Time: 44:24 

N.B.
This rip is converted from DSD64 > WAV > FLAC [DR16]
Applause has been edited for improved listening pleasure.
Artwork taken from DVD [Blue Note UCBJ-1007] 

Credits:
Producer - Chihiro Yamanaka, Arranger
Executive-Producer - Hirokazu Tanaka, Yoshihisa Saito
Recording & Mixing - Atsushi Fujita
A&R - Hajime Isogai
Art Direction, Design - Kanako Okajima
Photography - Asami Hoshino

Blue Note Tokyo 2014 Trailer

Horace Silver Quintet & Trio - Blowin' The Blues Away (1959, 2004)

Blowin' The Blues Away is one of Horace Silver's all-time Blue Note classics, only upping the ante established on Finger Poppin' for tightly constructed, joyfully infectious hard bop. This album marks the peak of Silver's classic quintet with trumpeter Blue Mitchell, tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Louis Hayes; it's also one of the pianist's strongest sets of original compositions, eclipsed only by Song for My Father and Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers. The pacing of the album is impeccable, offering up enough different feels and slight variations on Silver's signature style to captivate the listener throughout. Two songs - the warm, luminous ballad "Peace" and the gospel-based call-and-response swinger "Sister Sadie" - became oft-covered standards of Silver's repertoire, and the madly cooking title cut wasn't far behind. And they embody what's right with the album in a nutshell -- the up-tempo tunes ("Break City") are among the hardest-swinging Silver had ever cut, and the slower changes of pace ("Melancholy Mood") are superbly lyrical, adding up to one of the best realizations of Silver's aesthetic. Also, two cuts ("Melancholy Mood" and the easy-swinging "The St. Vitus Dance") give Silver a chance to show off his trio chops, and "Baghdad Blues" introduces his taste for exotic, foreign-tinged themes. Through it all, Silver remains continually conscious of the groove, playing off the basic rhythms to create funky new time patterns. The typical high-impact economy of his and the rest of the band's statements is at its uppermost level, and everyone swings with exuberant commitment. In short, Blowin' the Blues Away is one of Silver's finest albums, and it's virtually impossible to dislike. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide. 

Blue Note Records, TOCJ-6421, 2004
Recorded 29th August (#1,6), 30th August (#3,4,5) and 13th September (#2,7), 1959
at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 

Musicians:
Horace Silver - Piano
Blue Mitchell - Trumpet (#1,3-6)
Junior Cook - Tenor Saxophone (#1,3-6)
Gene Taylor - Bass
Louis Hayes - Drums 

Tracks:
1. Blowin' The Blues Away (4:45)
2. The St. Vitus Dance (4:09)
3. Break City (4:57)
4. Peace (6:03)
5. Sister Sadie (6:19)
6. The Baghdad Blues (4:53)
7. Melancholy Mood (7:09) 

All compositions by Horace Silver 

Total Time: 38:19 

Credits:
Producer - Alfred Lion
Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder
Cover Design - Reid Miles
Cover Illustration - Paula Donohue
Liner Notes - Ira Gitler 

Blowin' The Blues Away