Jazz / Hard Bop
Recorded: Sep 24, 28 and 30, 1959, Reeves Studios, New York City
Blue Mitchell Sextet
Richard "Blue" Mitchell - trumpet
Jimmy Heath - saxophone (except 3,4,7,11,12)
Curtis Fuller - trombone (except 3,4,7,11,12)
Wynton Kelly - piano
Sam Jones - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums
The 1959 sextet date displays attention to program and preparation too rare at the time. Trumpeter Blue Mitchell and a stellar group play compositions and arrangements by Benny Golson, a recognized master of the small-band format in his prime, and Jimmy Heath, a Philadelphia contemporary of Golson's and John Coltrane's who ended a lengthy recording absence and began his important association with Riverside on this session. Throughout the well-chosen and diverse material, and the heavy swing of a great rhythm section, Mitchell's horn remains a model of intimate and balanced lyricism. This was a milestone album for the trumpeter, and heralded his greatest years in the Horace Silver Quintet and on Riverside Records. |
