The October 1960 sessions which comprise Coltrane’s Sound present a portrait of the John Coltrane Quartet in its infancy, yet many of the mature elements which were to distinguish the group during its primacy are already in place. Coltrane’s Sound was among the last releases to emerge from his Atlantic sessions, but, in some ways, it’s among the most satisfying.

John Coltrane’s search for the ideal rhythm section coincided with his transition from hard bop to the emerging modal stylings first suggested by Miles Davis on Kind Of Blue. Elvin Jones’ polyrhythmic inventions exploited the tension between triplets and eighth notes, and with his unique cymbal sound and powerful technique, Jones perfected a new rhythmic style of phrasing. Pianist McCoy Tyner offered a rich harmonic palette and a supple lyric dimension. He was able to play convincingly in hard bop and ballad modes, yet he also understood how to reinforce Elvin Jones’ rhythmic ideas and feed the saxophonist droning chordal support that didn’t limit Trane to any conventional chordal cycles. Bassist Steve Davis would soon be supplanted, but he sensed Coltrane’s new rhythmic priorities, and moved comfortably from vamping ostinatos to pulsing swing.

Personnel: John Coltrane (soprano & tenor saxophones); McCoy Tyner (piano); Steve Davis (bass); Elvin Jones (drums).

Tracklist

01. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
02. Central Park West
03. Liberia
04. Body and Soul
05. Equinox
06. Satellite
07. 26-2

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This release is something of a departure for the bold trumpet stylist. After the Latin-tinged dance-floor jams of THE SIDEWINDER (released about six months prior to this disc), Morgan turns somewhat reflective. The music is quieter, with a good deal of structural space and restrained, almost expressionistic playing. The title track opens the album and evokes a mood of poignancy and careful balance, like a Japanese painting. Even the more up-tempo numbers like “The Joker” and “Mr. Kenyatta” are relaxed and thoughtful, the richly textured passages unfolding in a way that seems both organic and tightly disciplined.

Morgan’s playing maintains its articulate brightness, but his notes and phrases are carefully shaded. This is matched by Wayne Shorter’s sax work (also simultaneously edgy and lyrical), Grant Green’s glowing guitar and Herbie Hancock’s atmospheric contributions. Lee should also be recognized as a significant composer, since all the tracks here, with their floating themes and protean solo sections, are from his pen. Search For The New Land live up to its title, finding a high ground of intelligent, evocative work and outstanding playing.

Personnel: Lee Morgan (trumpet); Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Herbie Hancock (piano); Grant Green (guitar); Reginald Workman (bass); Billy Higgins (drums).

Tracklist

01. Search For The New Land
02. The Joker
03. Mr. Kenyatta
04. Melancholee
05. Morgan The Pirate

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Gordon takes his time stretching out over the forms, which are particularly drawn out to begin with. Drew’s “Coppin’ the Haven” is a more concise continuation of the effort to reconcile the modal approach with the use of more bop-like changes. “Darn That Dream,” a ballad feature for the leader, is done as a quartet, as is the one Gordon composition “Kong Neptune,” a track not released on the original LP. A particularly interesting aspect of this disc is the chance to hear bassist Niels–Henning Orsted Pedersen making one of his earliest recorded appearances.

Personnel: Dexter Gordon (tenor saxophone); Dexter Gordon; Donald Byrd (trumpet); Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (bass instrument); Kenny Drew (piano); Art Taylor (drums)

Tracklist

01. Tanya
02. Coppin’ The Haven
03. Darn That Dream
04. Kong Neptune

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In an extensive label catalog as uniformly excellent as Blue Note’s, it’s virtually impossible to pick “the greatest” album. Still, there’s little doubt that pianist Andrew Hill’s Point of Departure is one of the label’s most extraordinary recordings. Hill, a Chicagoan whose varied resumé as a sideman included stints with Dinah Washington, Jackie McLean, the Johnny Griffin/Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis band, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, was a perfect addition to the Blue Note roster: a thoroughly modern composer and a thoughtful soloist, capable of handling both leader dates and sideman roles. Indeed, Hill’s stature as the leader here would seem arbitrary were the album not all his compositions. Every player on the album is a band leader and trendsetter in his own right: trumpeter Kenny Dorham, reedmen Joe Henderson and Eric Dolphy, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Anthony Williams. Employing a wide variety of meters, Point of Departure covers a broad range of material, from the angular and gripping “Refuge” though the shifting “Spectrum,” to the brisk “Flight 19,” and introspective closer, “Dedication.” It is, in many ways, the classic Blue Note album: an intense, modern, and gripping performance.

Personnel: Andrew Hill (piano); Eric Dolphy (alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet); Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Kenny Dorham (trumpet); Richard Davis (bass); Tony Williams (drums).

Tracklist

01. Refue
02. New Monastery
03. Spectrum
04. Flight 19
05. Dedication
06. New Monastery (Alternate Take)
07. Flight 19 (Alternate Take)
08. Dedication (Alternate Take)

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When Horace Silver disbanded his quintet of six years in 1964, Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook and Gene Taylor decided to stay together and form the nucleus of the Blue Mitchell Quintet. The band took shape that summer with newcomers Chick Corea and Al Foster. Mitchell has learned wellfrom his former employer; for this debut album he kept the emphasis on consummahe ultra hip groove of the title tune to the now classic “Footprints,” this is among the best.

Personnel: Blue Mitchell (trumpet); Blue Mitchell; Gene Taylor (bass instrument); Aloysius Foster, Al Foster (drums); Junior Cook (tenor saxophone); Chick Corea (piano).

Tracklist

01. Fungii Mama
02. Mona’s Mood
03. The Thing To Do
04. Step Lightly
05. Chick’s Tune

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A truly wonderful advanced hard bop date, Wahoo captures pianist Duke Pearson at his most adventurous and creative. With the exception of Donald Byrd’s closing “Fly Little Bird Fly,” Pearson wrote all of the material on this six-song album, and his compositions are clever, melodic, and unpredictable without being cloying or inaccessible. He has assembled a first-rate sextet to perform the material, enlisting trumpeter Byrd, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Bob Cranshaw, alto saxophonist/flautist James Spaulding, and drummer Mickey Roker. Even the subdued “Wahoo” and “ESP” search out new territory with their subtle themes and exploratory solo sections. The key to the success of Wahoo is that Duke Pearson is a gifted arranger, creating nimble, challenging arrangements that are accessible, but reveal more details upon each listen. As a pianist, he has moved beyond his initial Bud Powell influence and reveals new aspects of his technique. Henderson, Byrd, and Spaulding are equally impressive, helping elevate Wahoo to one of the finest sophisticated hard bop dates Blue Note released in the mid-’60s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Personnel includes: Duke Pearson, Donald Byrd, Joe Henderson, James Spaulding, Bob Cranshaw, Mickey Roker.

Tracklist

01. Amanda
02. Bedouin
03. Farewell Machelle
04. Wahoo
05. Esp (Extransensory Perception)
06. Fly Little Bird Fly

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On this 1964 Prestige solo debut by George Benson, the revered guitarist enlists the support of his mentor, organ legend Jack McDuff, for a set of vintage soul jazz. Benson, only 21 years old at the time of the recording, clearly reveals the influences of Wes Montgomery and Charlie Christian in his dexterous playing. Even at this early stage, however, the young six-stringer displays a lyricism that’s all his own, as best revealed on the groove-laden “Sweet Alice Blues” and the simmering “I Don’t Know.” While McDuff graciously tones down his formidable key work to let his star pupil shine, saxophonist Red Holloway has no problem with making the occasional attempt (though rarely succeeding) to steal Benson’s thunder, as on the shuffling opener, “Shadow Dancers.” A far cry from Benson’s later R&B/pop work (“Gimme the Night,” etc.), the material on The New Boss Guitar Of George Benson is soul-tinged bop at its finest, and a key album in Benson’s remarkably long and varied career.

Personnel: George Benson (guitar); Red Holloway (tenor saxophone); Jack McDuff (piano, organ); Ronnie Boykins (bass); Montego Joe, Joe Dukes (drums).

Tracklist

01. Shadow Dancers
02. The Sweet Alice Blues
03. I Don’t Know
04. Just Another Sunday
05. Will You Still Be Mine
06. Easy Living
07. Rock-A-Bye
08. My Three Sons

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Free For All captures Art Blakey and his Messengers at the height of their powers in the mid ’60s. Since expanding to a sextet with the addition of Curtis Fuller on trombone, the group took on a larger-than-life sound with more complex arrangements encompassing the larger horn line, musical director Wayne Shorter’s dramatic compositions and, of course, the powerful drumming of Blakey himself. Boisterous, passionate and driven, the ’60s incarnation of the Jazz Messengers defined the hardbop movement more than any ensemble save those led by Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

The focus of this incarnation of the Messengers is on the compositions of saxophonist Wayne Shorter. His powerful title track opens the session with dark shadings and dense horn harmonies prodded by Blakey’s rambunctious flurry of drums. Also by Shorter, the bluesy “Hammer Head” is a swaggering blowing session that leans on Blakey’s shuffling backbeat for its fuel. “The Core” is trumpeter Freddie Hubbard’s contribution and features furious ensemble shouts and passionate solos by Shorter, Hubbard, Fuller and pianist Cedar Walton. Finally, a beautiful arrangement of Clare Fischer’s “Pensativa” is the Messengers’ swinging take on the classic bossa nova.

Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers: Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Freddie Hubbard (trumpet); Curtis Fuller (trombone); Cedar Walton (piano); Reggie Workman (bass instrument); Art Blakey (drums).

Tracklist

01. Free For All
02. Hammer Head
03. The Core
04. Pensativa

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Originally released in 1964, Sam Rivers’ Fuchsia Swing Song was released immediately after his departure from the Miles Davis Quartet. A session player and former member of Herb Pomeroy’s Big Band prior to working with Miles, this auspicious debut displays both his influences and that he was a self-assured seasoned player transitioning into greatness.

Personnel: Sam Rivers (tenor sax); Jaki Byard (piano); Ron Carter (bass); Anthony Williams (drums)

Tracklist

01. Fuchsia Swing Song
02. Downstairs Blues Upstairs
03. Cyclic Episode
04. Luminous Monolith
05. Beatrice
06. Ellipsis
07. Luminous Monolith (Alternate Take)
08. Downstairs Blues Upstairs (First Alterate Take)
09. Downstairs Blues Upstairs (Second Alternate Take)
10. Downstairs Blues Upstairs (Third Alternate Take)

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Originally released in May 1958, Black Pearls was a major step forward in the career of tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. Though Coltrane was already known as a fine soloist, mainly due to his association with Thelonious Monk’s quartet, Black Pearls proved that the saxophonist could also be a creative innovator. This dense, harmonically complex trio of compositions begins with the title track, a minor-mode but sprightly affair from the team of Romberg-Hammerstein. “Black Pearls” benefits from “the Coltrane changes”, chords that modulate every two beats instead of every one or two bars. His flurry of 16th notes is complemented by his use of substitutions, the practice of replacing common chords with complex chords consisting of higher intervals. In taking this practice to the extreme, the soloist fashioned a playing style referred to as “sheets of sound”. The same songwriting team returns in “Lover Come Back to Me”, which features an especially prescient Donald Byrd, who wields his trumpet with both fury and discipline. The final track is Robert Weinstock’s “Sweet Sapphire Blues”, a themeless, A-major excursion dominated by pianist Red Garland. Using the full range of the piano, Garland demonstrates his grasp of a number of performance styles within the 18-minute opus. Coltrane joins in with solo runs containing a multitude of melodies and rhythms, while drummer Art Taylor does more than simply keep time. The casual poise of Black Pearls is one of the album’s many pleasures, as is Coltrane’s democracy in allowing each member of his quintet to shine. An underrated, solid studio gem.

Personnel: John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); Donald Byrd (trumpet); Red Garland (piano); Paul Chambers (bass); Art Taylor (drums).

Tracklist

01. Black Pearls
02. Lover Come Back To Me
03. Sweet Sapphire Blues

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