I love the Riverside label. So many great albums. I like the sound as well. On this album the drums for example sound a bit low-fi at times, but natural and I like that. I was after this Blue Mitchell album for a long time. Had some opportunities to acquire it though but never pulled the trigger. Then I realized that one of my go-to contacts had this and felt the time was right to get it. It’s a great hard bop date with finesse and some superb tunes and wonderful trumpet playing by Blue. It features a great cast of players with Wynton Kelly on piano, Sam Jones on double bass and Roy Brooks on drums. This rhythm section is very interesting and I would very much like to hear them in a trio setting.
It’s a great mix of tunes supplying a lot of what I’m looking for in a hard-bop album. It’s quite relaxed and smooth. All the tunes are highly enjoyable. If I had to choose some favorites it would be the whole of Side 1. Side 2 is also great, but the first side is really doing it for me. I especially love the slow blues “Kinda Vague” which features some interesting stuff on the hi-hat by Roy Brooks. The 1st track on Side 1 is the great “I’ll Close My Eyes” which has been my ring tone on my mobile phone for years.
A lot of questions for my readers: What’s your thoughts on this album? Where do you place Blue Mitchell among all the great trumpet players of jazz? Do you have a favorite Blue Mitchell album? Any tips?
For me, Blue Mitchell really is a top cat and I’m planning to try and get a lot more albums featuring him. He released quite a few more on Riverside where he also made his debut as a leader in 1958. I will be looking at those for sure as well as his Blue Note output.
The status on getting hold of new arrivals is on hold, due to the corona crisis, which makes getting stuff from overseas tricky and maybe not completely reliable. I will maybe buy some stuff but telling the sellers to wait to send the packages until the worst of this is over. I’m not sure how reliable it is to send parcels right now across the world. Are any of you guys taking the risk or have had any experience of sending/receiving stuff during this period?
I’m hoping you’re staying safe and healthy and that you enjoy your collections. Maybe put a Blue Mitchell album on the turntable, relax and just enjoy the music.
If you’re looking for a section containing all my earlier posts sorted by month and year, click on “Post History” in the top menu. Stay tuned for more vintage treasures coming up. Cheers!