A new batch of reissues is always reason for celebration for me and six new Blue Notes quench the thirst this month. Alas, I haven’t yet seen or heard a new reissue of Hank Mobley’s “Another Workout,” so I’ll have to blab about that later.
In the meantime, I’ll tell you about the five sitting right here.
There are two each from trumpeters Lee Morgan (pictured above) and Donald Byrd -- both veterans of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers late ‘50s incarnations -- and one from saxman Ike Quebec, who for years was Blue Note’s artist liaison and A&R guy.
Quebec was a survivor from another era and so his ability to shine on mellow standards was no surprise. On “It Might As Well Be Spring,” recorded in 1961, the tenor man is backed by veteran bassist Milt Hinton and drummer Al Harewood. Young organist Freddie Roach -- who himself recorded a string of underrated Blue Note dates -- adds depth and color on the Hammond. This is smoky club jazz and perfect for a romantic dinner.
There’s nothing especially challenging in this batch of reissues, but Morgan’s two 1957 dates: “The Cooker” and “City Lights” are hard bop gems and along with de rigeur sidemen like bassist Paul Chambers, drummers Philly Joe Jones and Art Taylor, each session featured a rarer horn.
Trombonist Curtis Fuller -- another Blakely alum -- shines on “City Lights,” along side Morgan and alto and tenor man George Coleman. The tender and able Ray Bryant -- then just 25 -- also makes a relatively rare Blue Note appearance.
Baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams spices up “The Cooker,” which dishes up a rollicking reading of Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia” as well as two takes of Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those Things.”
Adams also plays his bari sax on Byrd’s 1961 “Royal Flush,” which gets a boost from still-emerging pianist Herbie Hancock and flawless drummer Billy Higgins. The session marked the end of Byrd and Adams’ partnership but the start of the Higgins pairing with bassist Butch Warren, a rhythm section that would fuel numerous fine Blue Note sessions for the next few years.
Finally, Byrd’s label debut “Off to the Races,” recorded in 1958, is a straight up hard bop date with the stellar Wynton Kelly on piano and Adams again in the front line, alongside Byrd and the great alto player Jackie McLean, who died earlier this year.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
