About

A TAV Curator’s Pick.

“Ike Quebec was perhaps the least likely musician to be leading albums for Blue Note in the early 1960s for he was a big-toned swing stylist rather than a hard bop or soul jazz player. But Quebec, a superb musician who was making a major comeback, was one of the most important figures in the entire history of Blue Note. He was the one who introduced Alfred Lion to bebop in the mid-1940s (including Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell) which entirely changed the course of Blue Note.

Quebec, who gained some fame as a member of the Cab Calloway Orchestra, was a member of the Blue Note family back in the mid-1940s, having a hit with his recording of “Blue Harlem.” After Quebec introduced Alfred Lion to the new music, he worked as an A&R man for Blue Note. Inactive during much of the 1950s, Quebec emerged in 1960 in prime form, recording several gems for Blue Note including Blue and Sentimental, his definitive album.

Equally skilled on intimate ballads and uptempo romps, Quebec displays his mastery of the tenor and his huge sound throughout this set. Joined by a pianoless quartet that includes Grant Green, Quebec makes every breath and sound count, playing seductive lines on the ballads and swinging forcefully on the hotter numbers. He only lived until 1963 (passing away when he was just 44), but, as Blue And Sentimental shows, Ike Quebec saved the very best for his later period, creating a masterpiece.

Like all Music Matters Jazz releases, this audiophile vinyl reissue is mastered from the original analog tape and pressed on 180g virgin vinyl at RTI in Camarillo, CA. The highest quality gatefold cover features original session photography on the inside.” – Music Matters

“Ike Quebec's 1961-1962 comeback albums for Blue Note were all pretty rewarding, but Blue and Sentimental is his signature statement of the bunch, a superbly sensuous blend of lusty blues swagger and achingly romantic ballads. True, there's no shortage of that on Quebec's other Blue Note dates, but Blue and Sentimental is the most exquisitely perfected. Quebec was a master of mood and atmosphere, and the well-paced program here sustains his smoky, late-night magic with the greatest consistency of tone.

Part of the reason is that Quebec's caressing tenor sound is given a sparer backing than usual, with no pianist among the quartet of guitarist Grant Green, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. It's no surprise that Green solos with tremendous taste and elegance (the two also teamed up on Green's similarly excellent Born to Be Blue), and there are plenty of open spaces in the ensemble for Quebec to shine through.” - AllMusic

Musicians:

• Ike Quebec, tenor sax
• Grant Green, guitar
• Paul Chambers, bass
• Philly Joe Jones, drums

About Ike Quebec:

“Influenced by Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster but definitely his own person, Ike Quebec was one of the finest swing-oriented tenor saxman of the 1940s and '50s. Though he was never an innovator, Quebec had a big, breathy sound that was distinctive and easily recognizable, and he was quite consistent when it came to came to down-home blues, sexy ballads, and up-tempo aggression. Originally a pianist, Quebec switched to tenor in the early '40s and showed that he had made the right decision on excellent 78s for Blue Note and Savoy (including his hit "Blue Harlem"). As a sideman, he worked with Benny Carter, Kenny Clarke, Roy Eldridge, and Cab Calloway. In the late '40s, the saxman did a bit of freelancing behind the scenes as a Blue Note A&R man and brought Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell to the label. Drug problems kept Quebec from recording for most of the 1950s, but he made a triumphant comeback in the early '60s and was once again recording for Blue Note and doing freelance A&R for the company. Quebec was playing as authoritatively as ever well into 1962, giving no indication that he was suffering from lung cancer, which claimed his life at the age of 44 in 1963. ~ Alex Henderson” – Blue Note Records

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