About

Trumpeter Donald Byrd was just 2 years into his two decade long Blue Note recording career when he brought his quintet in to Manhattan’s Half Note Café in November 1960 to record this soulful, swinging, and highly enjoyable live set of hard bop featuring Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, Duke Pearson on piano, Laymon Jackson on bass, and Lex Humphries on drums.

Byrd had already established himself as a leading trumpeter on the scene and was riding high on a creative hot streak that produced the studio albums Off To The Races, Byrd In Hand, Fuego, and Byrd In Flight. After an introduction by WOV disc jockey Ruth Mason (who would later become Ruth Lion, wife of Blue Note founder Alfred Lion), the band hits the ground running on Pearson’s up-tempo “My Girl Shirl” before downshifting into Byrd’s blues “Soulful Kiddy.” Side 2 opens with a beautiful ballad performance of “A Portrait of Jennie” before stretching out on another original blues by Byrd titled “Cecile” and concluding Volume 1 with the band’s theme “Pure D. Funk.” — (via Label)

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AllMusic say:

"This is one of the most essential hard bop purchases in the canon. The performances of Pearson showcase his improvisational acumen at its height. His soloing on studio records pales in comparison.

This was a hot quintet, one that not only swung hard, but possessed a deep lyricism and an astonishing sense of timing, and one need only this set by them to feel the full measure of their worth."

I say amen to that. AllMusic has my vote. This quintet swings without mercy.

Pepper Adams had been a regular collaborator with Byrd in the late Fifties, recording together for Blue Note on Byrd in Hand back in 1957. For some time after Byrd had been working with Jackie McLean and Hank Mobley, but in late 1960, Adams reappeared with Pearson and a new rhythm section, in form of the new quintet.

Van Gelder plunges you into the front row again, and you get a sense of what it must have been like in the presence of the New Donald Byrd Quintet, especially the  irrepressible angry-buzzing of  Pepper Adams baritone paired with Byrd’s bright upper register and mercurial phrasing, a perfect combination and refreshing change from tenor-driven standard bop fare.

These two-volume live Blue Note club dates, like the Blakey Café Bohemia and at the Corner of the Jazz World sessions, are an awe-inspiring experience, offering an immersive evening-in the likes of which many of us will never otherwise enjoy in the flesh. Add to the list the Riverside Village Vanguard sessions of Bill Evans, Miles Davis at the Plugged Nickel and at the Blackhawk, Shelley Manne at the Manhole, Thelonious Monk’s Europen Tour, Newport Festival. — (via London Jazz Collector)

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About the Blue Note Tone Poet Series:

The Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue 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, 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 180g audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

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Label: Blue Note Records
Series: Blue Note Tone Poet Series
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, 180g, Gatefold
Reissued: 2023 / Original: 1961
Genre: Jazz
Style: Hard Bop
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