About

Who are these guys? That’s the usual reaction of anyone fortunate enough to have come across this remarkable (and remarkably rare) session from 1963. The last of six albums saxophonist Curtis Amy recorded for Pacific Jazz in the early-1960s, Katanga! transcends not only the rest but plenty of other recorded jazz from that period as well. Trumpeter Dupree Bolton’s brilliant playing here is simply breathtaking in one of his very few recorded appearances during a career plagued with personal problems. Bolton and Amy are joined by guitarist Ray Crawford, pianist Jack Wilson, bassist Victor Gaskin, and drummer Doug Sides. Obscure but rewarding music that was overshadowed during the era and was previously long out of print. 

—

At a time when West Coast jazz was primarily associated with young, white, college-educated jazz musicians who had graduated through big bands such as Stan Kenton and worked by day on the Hollywood sound stages and at night in jazz clubs such as the Lighthouse on Hermosa beach, Katanga! seemed like an explosion. Here was an alternative vision of West Coast jazz that was uncompromising hard-bop-into-post-bop that was unequivocal in its conception and execution.

There is a moment on the opening track Katanga! where time seems to stand still. Dupree Bolton on trumpet takes the first solo and in only 96 bars of improvisation – lasting less than a minute an a quarter – he creates a solo of enormous impact. At the brisk tempo his solo has an ease of execution that's expressed with both confidence and deep invention. It is the sound of a trumpeter who seemed destined for greatness. All but one of the six tracks are by Amy or Bolton, but it's Bolton who steals the show – on ‘Native Land’ he gradually moves to an exultant climax before resolving his line in the low register while ‘Amyable’ contains another fine example of his playing.

Who is this guy? Well, he'd previously appeared on Harold Land's 1960 album The Fox and threatened to steal the show there, but promptly dropped out of sight. Drugs offences put him in the slammer, only to emerge again in Amy's sextet. He also appeared throughout the 25-minute 1962 telecast Frankly Jazz with Amy and again he seemed too good to be true. But those three tantalising glimpses are all he left for posterity since drugs derailed his career. He disappeared off the stand during a gig with Amy's group at Shelley's Manne Hole and that was that – hopelessly addicted, he even spent time in San Quentin. In the 1980s there were sightings of him jamming with musicians and busking on the streets – he once had talent in abundance, but had let it go, his death unnoticed on 5 June 1992. — (via Jazzwise)

—

About the Blue Note Tone Poet Series:

The Blue Note Tone Poet Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was’ admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley (from Music Matters), a.k.a. the “Tone Poet,” on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the jacket graphics and printing quality to superior LP mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180 gm audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Blue Note/Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

Blue Note Records’ Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tape 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe gatefold packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI). — (via Label)

↓
Label: Pacific Jazz
Series: Blue Note Tone Poet Series
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, 180g
Reissued: 2021 / Original Release: 1963
Genre: Jazz
Style: Hard Bop

File under: Jazz // Blue Note Tone Poet Series
⦿