Duke Pearson – How Insensitive (1969 sessions) – Japan CD

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Duke Pearson — How Insensitive · Japanese Blue Note CD

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On How Insensitive, Duke Pearson brings Brazilian songs, jazz and choral textures into the same Blue Note album. He moves between acoustic piano, electric piano and flugelhorn, with musicians including guitarist Al Gafa, bassist Bob Cranshaw, drummer Mickey Roker and percussionist Airto Moreira. Andy Bey is among the featured singers.

Start with the title track, Pearson’s reading of Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Insensatez,” and listen to how the arrangement gives the melody room to breathe. Then try “Sandalia Dela” for a livelier side of the album, where the percussion and voices are part of what makes the tune move.

Why this album deserves a place in your collection

If you know Pearson from Fuego or from his arrangements for Donald Byrd’s A New Perspective, this is a chance to hear him explore a different palette under his own name. Listen to how the voices, guitar and percussion change roles from one track to the next. That variety is a good reason to play the album straight through.

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Japanese Blue Note CD edition. The photographs show the actual copy offered for sale. See the eBay listing for edition details, condition and shipping options.

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Stanley Turrentine – Look Out! (1960) – Japan CD

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Stanley Turrentine — Look Out! · Japanese Blue Note CD

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Recorded at Van Gelder Studio on 18 June 1960, Look Out! puts Stanley Turrentine’s tenor saxophone in front of a trio with Horace Parlan on piano, George Tucker on bass and Al Harewood on drums. With no second horn, there’s plenty of room to hear how Turrentine varies the weight of a note or lets a short blues phrase carry a whole chorus.

Start with the title track, where Tucker and Harewood keep the pulse moving while Turrentine phrases across it. Then try “Little Sheri.” Its easy pace brings out the warmth in his sound and gives Parlan room to answer the tenor with a few well-placed chords.

Why this album deserves a place in your collection

If you’ve been listening to Horace Parlan’s Movin’ & Groovin’, this is a rewarding companion. It gives you a chance to hear Parlan with Tucker and Harewood again, this time shaping the music around Turrentine’s tenor. Follow the rhythm section for a chorus or two and you’ll hear how much of the album’s swing comes from their interplay.

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Japanese Blue Note CD edition. The photographs show the actual copy offered for sale. See the eBay listing for edition details, condition and shipping options.

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Hank Mobley – No Room for Squares (1964) – Japan CD

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Hank Mobley — No Room for Squares · Japanese Blue Note CD

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No Room for Squares draws on two 1963 Blue Note sessions, with Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone and Philly Joe Jones on drums throughout. The March date features Donald Byrd on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano and Butch Warren on bass. In October, Lee Morgan, Andrew Hill and John Ore take their places.

Start with “Up a Step” and listen to how Hancock’s piano opens up space around Mobley’s lines. Then try the title track: Morgan’s more pointed attack changes the balance of the front line, and Hill’s chord accents give Mobley a different backdrop. Philly Joe’s playing is a good thread to follow across both tracks.

Why this album deserves a place in your collection

If you know Mobley from Workout, this is a rewarding next stop. You can hear how readily his tenor adapts to two different quintets while keeping its own character. The chance to compare Hancock and Hill behind the same leader is another reason to listen to the album straight through.

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Japanese Blue Note CD edition. The photographs show the actual copy offered for sale. See the eBay listing for edition details, condition and shipping options.

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Kenny Drew – Undercurrent (1961) – Japan CD

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Kenny Drew — Undercurrent · Japanese Blue Note CD

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On Undercurrent, pianist Kenny Drew leads a Blue Note quintet with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Sam Jones on bass and Louis Hayes on drums. The title track makes a strong opener: listen to how Hubbard’s bright attack and Mobley’s rounded tenor give the same theme two different colours.

Follow it with “Funky Blues,” where the more relaxed pace makes it easier to hear what Drew does behind the horns. His chords punctuate the soloists’ lines, while Jones and Hayes give the music an easy forward motion.

Why this album deserves a place in your collection

If you know Drew chiefly as an accompanist, this is a chance to hear how he shapes a session as a leader. It also makes a good companion to Mobley’s Workout: there the tenor is paired with Grant Green’s guitar, while here Hubbard’s trumpet gives Mobley a very different partner.

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Japanese Blue Note CD edition, catalogue number TOCJ-9049. The photographs show the actual copy offered for sale. See the eBay listing for condition and shipping details.

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Lee Morgan – Introducing Lee Morgan (1956 session) – Japan CD

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Lee Morgan — Introducing Lee Morgan · Japanese CD

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Recorded for Savoy in 1956, Introducing Lee Morgan pairs the young trumpeter with Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Hank Jones on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Art Taylor on drums. Morgan’s bright attack and Mobley’s more rounded sound are easy to tell apart, even when the two horns state a theme together.

Start with Mobley’s “Hank’s Shout.” Listen to how Morgan pushes a phrase forward, then how Mobley settles into a line at his own pace. Hank Jones is worth following behind both: his chords mark the changes without getting in the way of either soloist.

Why this album deserves a place in your collection

If you know Morgan from Search for the New Land, this Savoy date takes you back to the start of his recording career. The setting is firmly rooted in hard bop, and the contrast with Mobley makes it easy to hear how much of Morgan’s musical personality was already in place.

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Japanese CD edition of the Savoy album. The photographs show the actual copy offered for sale. See the eBay listing for edition details, condition and shipping options.

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Grant Green – The Latin Bit (1962 session) – Japan CD

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Grant Green — The Latin Bit · Japanese Blue Note CD

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On The Latin Bit, Grant Green brings his blues phrasing to a Blue Note session built around Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms. Johnny Acea plays piano and Wendell Marshall plays bass, with Willie Bobo on drums, Carlos “Patato” Valdés on congas and Garvin Masseaux on chekeré.

Start with “Mambo Inn” and listen to how Green’s short phrases fit around the percussion. Then try “Brazil,” where the melody gives him more room to let his notes ring. “My Little Suede Shoes” is a good example of how naturally his bebop vocabulary fits this setting.

Why this album deserves a place in your collection

If you know Green from Green Street or Idle Moments, this session lets you hear what he does with a different rhythm section. Bobo, Valdés and Masseaux give the music much of its character. Follow their parts for a track or two and you’ll hear how much Green can do with a short line and a well-placed pause.

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Japanese Blue Note CD edition. The photographs show the actual copy offered for sale. See the eBay listing for edition details, condition and shipping options.

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Sonny Clark Trio (1957 session) – Japan CD

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Sonny Clark Trio · Japanese Blue Note CD

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Recorded for Blue Note on 13 October 1957, Sonny Clark Trio brings Clark together with Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The programme moves between bebop themes and standards, and the trio setting makes it easy to hear how Clark shapes a line and where he chooses to leave space.

Start with “Be-Bop” for the trio at full speed. Then try “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” and listen to how Clark keeps the melody in view as his phrases begin to wander. “Tadd’s Delight” is another good place to follow the rhythm section: Chambers keeps the pulse steady while Jones answers the piano with short accents.

Why this album deserves a place in your collection

If you know Clark from Cool Struttin’, this session lets you hear him with Chambers and Jones in a more exposed setting. It also makes a good companion to Dexter Gordon’s A Swingin’ Affair: there Clark leaves room for the tenor, while here he carries the melody himself.

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Japanese Blue Note CD edition. The photographs show the actual copy offered for sale. See the eBay listing for edition details, condition and shipping options.

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Dexter Gordon – A Swingin’ Affair (1962 session) – Japan CD

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Dexter Gordon — A Swingin’ Affair · Japanese Blue Note CD

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Recorded at Van Gelder Studio on 29 August 1962, A Swingin’ Affair reunites Dexter Gordon with Sonny Clark on piano, Butch Warren on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Gordon’s “Soy Califa” opens the set: listen to how easily Higgins moves between the Latin rhythm and swing while Gordon keeps his phrases relaxed.

“Don’t Explain” brings out another side of the quartet. Gordon lets the melody breathe, and Clark leaves just enough space around the tenor for the quieter phrases to register. For a change of pace, try “The Backbone,” where Warren’s bass helps give the tune its forward motion.

Why this album deserves a place in your collection

If you know Go!, this is its natural companion. The same quartet is back in the studio, and what makes the pairing rewarding is how differently the musicians respond to each tune. Play “Soy Califa” and “Don’t Explain” back to back to hear how much range Gordon gets from the same four players.

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Search for the New Land (1964 session) – Japan CD

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Lee Morgan — Search for the New Land · Japanese Blue Note CD

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Recorded at Van Gelder Studio in February 1964, Search for the New Land pairs Lee Morgan’s trumpet with Wayne Shorter’s tenor saxophone. Herbie Hancock on piano and Grant Green on guitar give the sextet two distinct ways of colouring the harmony, while Reggie Workman on bass and Billy Higgins on drums keep the music moving even through its quietest passages.

Give the title track time to unfold. Its opening leaves plenty of space around the theme, and the band builds momentum without losing that spacious feel. Then try “Mr. Kenyatta,” where the sharper horn figures and Higgins’s accents give the music a more urgent character.

Why this album deserves a place in your collection

If you know Morgan chiefly from The Sidewinder, this session, recorded only two months later, shows how much room he could build into a composition. It also makes a rewarding companion to Wayne Shorter’s Night Dreamer: here the same two horns work within Morgan’s writing, with Green’s guitar adding a sound all its own.

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Wayne Shorter – Night Dreamer (1964) – Japan CD

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Wayne Shorter — Night Dreamer · Japanese Blue Note CD

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Recorded on 29 April 1964 at Van Gelder Studio, Night Dreamer pairs Wayne Shorter’s tenor saxophone with Lee Morgan’s trumpet, backed by McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. On the title track, listen to how Jones keeps the three-beat pulse clear even as his accents shift beneath the horns.

“Virgo” is a quieter point of entry. With Shorter as the only horn, there’s room to hear how he lets a phrase hang before answering it, and how Tyner fills some of that space without crowding the melody.

Why this album deserves a place in your collection

If you know Shorter mainly from his work with Art Blakey or Miles Davis, Night Dreamer is a fine way into his Blue Note recordings as a leader. Morgan brings a bright, direct sound to the front line, while Tyner, Workman and Jones give Shorter’s melodies space to unfold. The difference between the title track and “Virgo” is a good reason to hear the album straight through.

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Japanese Blue Note CD edition. The photographs show the actual copy offered for sale. See the eBay listing for edition details, condition and shipping options.

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