Ernie Henry "Seven Standards and a Blues" on Riverside 12-248

View fullsize

Another Ernie Henry masterpiece... he had a sound of his own.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Delightful album by Ernie Henry on the wonderful Riverside label. As far as Ernie Henry albums go, I have this and his debut as a leader, also on Riverside (12-222). He had a special approach to the alto saxophone. An amazing player in my opinion with a truly personal style of playing. Very melodic and lyrical.

The Riverside label is a great source of superb jazz recordings during the second half of the 1950's. I've found that the quality of the pressings and the sound is very nice. The mixes by recording engineer Jack Higgins are fantastic. Like this one. I really like crisp and smooth sound of his work. It's a pleasure to listen to and it's a very relaxed sound that he created. I really like the drum sound for example on this recording. It's just so organic, relaxed and smooth.

This album is quite rare in it's original form with the large blue label with deep groove and no INC. Both this and the other Henry on Riverside that I own are rare. Both of them are very pleasurable. I always take them off the shelf with a smile on my face. I looked for these records for quite a while and owning them now is a great feeling.

This is the first post of 2018. I've maintained this version of the site since the beginning of 2015. Prior to that I had another site about my jazz vinyl collecting. I started that in the summer of 2012. So, a 3 year anniversary of this version of the site has now passed. I'm hoping to add many more nice collectibles here for many years to come. And I'm hoping to keep getting such distinguished guests visiting as well...

I have already acquired the first LP of 2018 a week ago. I will receive it tomorrow. It's a fabulous album. Very rare and in outstanding condition. I'm thrilled to have been able to find it as it has eluded me for many years. To me, the cover is one of the coolest in modern jazz. Stay tuned for that one. I'm looking forward to the rest of 2018 and to see what other rare pieces will make their way into my collection.

Have a great day/evening folks... and remember to check out Ernie Henry if you haven't already. Cheers!

Presenting Ernie Henry on Riverside 12-222

View fullsize

Ernie Henry's debut as a leader is a real treat...

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Ahh, these old white label Riversides are a real treat... there's something truly genuine about them. I still get amazed over how an LP from the 50's can be in such superb shape and sound so good. It's hard to describe the feeling when you put a NM copy of a record from the 50's on the turntable and drop the needle and hear the sounds coming out of the speakers... Oh, I got two words for it; complete bliss.

Ernie Henry was an altoist of great talent and huge potential. His life was cut short by a heroin overdose at the age of only 31. Influenced by Bird he went on to create in his own personal direction. He recorded three albums as a leader for Riverside, and this is the first. When you hear Henry play you can't help but wonder how many other great albums he could have recorded if he didn't die so young. But the first two Riverside dates as a leader, alone, are enough to enjoy for a very long time. These two albums are very high up on my favorite albums list. Both are quite difficult to get your hands on as original 1st pressings. I've been looking for the 12-222 for a long time, and now finally I've been able to add it to the collection. I'm of course delighted to now own this great album.

I'm pretty sure this one and the other one on Riverside 12-248, are quite underrated and maybe not so well known to many jazz collectors. I could be wrong, but nevertheless, they are superb and should be found in every jazz collection. I strongly recommend you seek out these gems and find out for yourselves how great they are.

Apart from Henry, this session is also graced by some other top notch players, such as Kenny Dorham, Kenny Drew, Wilbur Ware and Art Taylor. Pretty much a dream line-up for me. All tunes except two are penned by Ernie Henry. They are all truly great.

There, now go and seek out some Ernie Henry... Cheers guys!