"Tender Feelin's" by Duke Pearson on Blue Note BLP 4035

Great trio stuff from Pearson.

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I have managed to find three of Pearson’s albums as a leader so far. This one is a trio setting together with Gene Taylor on double bass and Lex Humphries on drums, and he thrives here. Always playing with style and lyricism. For me his very lyrical playing is a huge plus. Sometimes it feels like he mixes in classical elements as well. It’s very elegant. “I’m a Fool to Want You” and “When Sunny Gets Blue” are a couple of examples of that. Maybe one can describe his playing on this album as smooth and pleasant with tons of lyricism, elegant classical touches and a deep understanding of the blues.

Speaking of the blues; the last track “3 A.M.” is quite interesting in the spontaneous way it was recorded. I quote from the liner notes: "The session was over, and everybody was ready to pack up and the lights in the studio had been turned off. Then, Duke started to play the blues, with his hat on, and quickly Gene grabbed his bass and Lex got ready. In the control room, we got set, but fast, and this is the result. It sure is a relaxed and soulful piece of music.” - Alfred Lion

I think this is a very fine session and one you should definitely seek out if you enjoy piano trios that focus plenty on lyrical expressions. A gem in the Blue Note 4000 series.

Back to work now, but I’m enjoying the summer as much as I can when I’m not in the office. It’s been very hot here in Stockholm. Not complaining though. Have some leads on some albums and hopefully that will materialize into some new purchases. One title is on it’s way to me. It’s a great one on Riverside. Stay tuned for that.

I’m continuing making videos for my YouTube channel, where I will go through albums from the collection and talk about what I think of them and add some 1st pressing info as well regarding each title. Check it out, subscribe and leave a comment if you want. Hope to see you there. The link to the channel is: https://www.youtube.com/@fwrarejazzvinylcollector

Enjoy your collections folks, cheers!

"Wahoo" by Duke Pearson on Blue Note 4191

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A lovely later Blue Note, full of great compositions.

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Highly enjoyable album by Duke Pearson that for a long time wasn’t on my radar, until I discovered how great it was. A lot of the later Blue Note stuff was not my main focus for quite some time, but I’ve explored a lot of it in recent years. Far from everything though, which is exciting cause theres a lot left to sink my teeth into. I take things slow. So this title is one of the best later Blue Notes I’ve heard. It contains a great mix of tunes which keeps you engaged and excited throughout. It’s not just straight ahead hard bop. It’s has different elements going on. Listen to the wonderful “Bedouin” for example, with it’s oriental flavors. Different for sure and I love that. It’s quite original stuff, which feels fresh and unique. Pearson leads a lovely sextet that includes Donald Byrd on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor sax, James Spaulding on alto sax and flute, Bob Cranshaw on double bass and Mickey Roker on drums. Pearson has penned all the tunes but one, which is credited to Byrd.

If you haven’t listened to this album much, or at all, give it a shot. You’ll not regret it. It’s one of the real gems of the Blue Note catalogue for sure. My original mono pressing sounds wonderful and I’m very happy to have found it. You don’t see original pressings of this one in mono that often it seems.

I’ve secured another great Duke Pearson title as well, earlier this year. Stay tuned for that. I really enjoy his work, both as a pianist and a composer. He has class and style. Looking to explore his catalogue a lot more.

Couple of questions: Favorite Duke Pearson album? Maybe you can give me your top 3? Your thoughts on the album on display?

Enjoy your collections folks and take care of each other. More vintage original mono pressings coming up. Cheers!

"Hush" by the Duke Pearson Quintet on Jazzline JAZ-3302

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Two trumpets? Yes, please.

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Another year has begun. Let’s hope this year will be better than the last one. There’s so much wrong with the world, but let’s keep it all about the jazz here. This record is quite rare from what I’ve gathered. You don’t see it often on the market. Duke Pearson is a cat I haven’t listened to much at all. This is my first album with him on the piano from what I can remember. It’s a mellow and enjoyable album. Not very adventurous, but with some nice and smooth tunes that are easily likeable. It features an unusual pairing of Donald Byrd and Johnny Coles, both trumpeters, as the only horns. I’m a trumpet kind of guy so that’s allright with me.

I can recommend this album if you enjoy straight ahead, lyrical jazz. It features a sweet, melancholy ballad called “Angel Eyes”, where Pearson’s lyrical playing really is on full display.

Last year, in terms of collecting vintage jazz vinyl, was great for me. I got some nice records onto my shelves. A few that were on top of the want-list. This one on display was more of a impulse buy. I saw it being offered on auction and I listened to it digitally first and thought it was great, so I jumped on the chance to try and secure it. Got it for a fair price as well.

I think the sound of the album is a bit muffled and dull. Quite low fidelity. Still, it’s enjoyable. It’s just not blowing my mind away sound-wise, like so many of my other albums do. When you get that energy, that punch and the details of everything makes you marvel over how this could have been recorded so long ago and been preserved so beautifully. This album sounds more like it was recorded in the early 50’s with not the best of equipment, even though it was actually recorded in 1962. It’s a good album and it’s a scarce historical artifact that I’m very happy to own. I now own two albums on the small Jazzline label, this one and “Bash” by Dave Bailey, which is a very good album indeed.

A couple of questions: What was your top find of last year? Favorite Duke Pearson album?

I hope you are staying safe and I like to wish you all a happy new year. Let me just say that I appreciate you guys visiting and commenting on my site very, very much. I love to interact with you guys and I hope we will continue to have some great exchanges during 2021 and beyond. I hope you all will find some great albums this year. Cheers!