Don Grolnick Complete Blue Note

Ike Quebec - The Complete Blue Note 45 Sessions (2005) {2CD Set, Blue Note Connoisseur CD Series rec 1959-1962}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 810 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 310 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 42 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959-62, 2005 Blue Note / Capitol / EMI | 0946 3 11441 2 7
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Saxophone

During his comeback years (1959-62) after a decade mostly off the scene, tenor saxophonist Ike Quebec recorded frequently for Blue Note. He started off with a session aimed at the 45 jukebox market and, although he eventually made a few full-length albums for the label, Quebec cut four 45 dates over a two-and-a-half-year period. This double-disc set has all of the jukebox sessions. Most of the 26 selections clock in between four and seven minutes and have long melody statements in addition to concise and soulful solos. Quebec, who was in consistently prime form during his last period, is joined by groups featuring either Skeeter Best or Willie Jones on guitar and Edwin Swanston, Sir Charles Thompson, or Earl Van Dyke on organ. Fun, loose and highly enjoyable music.

George Braith - The Complete Blue Note Sessions (2001) {2CD Set, Blue Note Connoisseur CD Series 24558 rec 1963-1964}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 706 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 274 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 29 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1963-64, 2001 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 24558 2 9 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

The use of multiphonics in jazz has been mastered by very few players, and while at times shrill and thin, can be enlivening and exciting. Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Albert Mangelsdorff set the gold standard, while several trumpeters like Rayse Biggs and Corey Wilkes have tried it with two brass instruments, and contemporary saxophonist Jeff Coffin gives it ago. George Braith holds a singularly unique place in the pantheon of these stylistas, following the path of Kirk in playing two saxophones while combining bop and soul-jazz. This set represents the complete works of Braith on Blue Note in 1963 and 1964 from the albums Two Souls in One, Soul Stream, and Extension.

This estate-approved collection of Davis' three Blue Note 10-inch albums, plus all alternate takes issued on subsequent 12-inch albums and CD reissues features a total of 26 tracks recorded for Blue Note Records on three dates in 1952, '53 and '54…

Lee Morgan - The Complete Blue Note Lee Morgan Fifties Sessions (1995) [4CD] {Mosaic MD4-162}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 1.63 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 615 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 52 Mb
© 1995 Mosaic Records / Blue Note | MD4-162
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

Lee Morgan recorded for Blue Note in the late '50s, playing seven dates between 1956 and 1958. Morgan was still in his teens at the time and half of the joy of The Complete Blue Note Lee Morgan Fifties Sessions is hearing the trumpeter develop at a rapid rate. The four-disc box set The Complete Blue Note encompasses sessions with Horace Silver, Paul Chambers, Benny Golson, Wynton Kelly, Sonny Clarke, Doug Watkins, and Art Taylor. Morgan may have been young at the time these were recorded, but he was impressive even at the beginning, playing blistering hard bop and lyrical ballads with equal ease. He may have gone on to record greater, more influential albums but this music remains exciting, vital, and simply joyous.

Although pianist Bud Powell recorded some great albums elsewhere (most notably his first couple of sessions for Verve), on the whole his Blue Note records were his most significant and definitive. This four-CD set has all of the music from his five Blue Note albums, his two sessions for the Roost label, and all known alternate takes. Powell literally changed the way that the piano is played in jazz, and this magnificent set has more than its share of classics. In addition to the many trio performances, trombonist Curtis Fuller sits in on three numbers, there are a few solo cuts, and one date features Powell at the head of a quintet with trumpeter Fats Navarro and the young tenor Sonny Rollins. Although there are a few faltering moments in the later dates, this essential release (unlike the similar Verve reissue) is quite consistent.

The Best of Don Pullen collects nine highlights from Don Pullen's 11 years with Blue Note. Spanning the late '80s and early '90s, the compilation includes tracks culled from the pianist's time with the George Adams Quartet, his trio albums (one with Gary Peacock, one with Tony Williams) and cuts he recorded with his group the African-Brazilian Connection. While his original recordings remain the best way to understand his achievements, this collection is a good introduction to his style for the curious, featuring such titles as "Song from the Old Country," "New Beginnings," "Jana's Delight," "Indio Gitano," "Reservation Blues," "El Matador" and "Andre's Ups and Downs."