Impulse 20 Bit Super Mapping

This Impulse recording features the fiery tenor Archie Shepp with his regularly working group of the period. (Scott Yanow)

All CD's remastered by Erick Labson using 20-bit Super Mapping except ON THIS NIGHT remastered by Paul Elmore. (Erick Labson's name is spelled as "Eric Labson.")
ON THIS NIGHT uses the 1993 CD master but removes the bonus track "Malcolm, Malcom, Semper Malcolm" because the exact same recording is on FIRE MUSIC, which is also included in this set. This is noted on the CD sleeve except that it incorrectly states that the track is on MAMA TOO TIGHT.

It may have been relatively late in Jimmy Rushing's career when he recorded two albums for ABC/BluesWay (Every Day I Have the Blues and Livin' the Blues, both of which are reissued in full on this single CD), but he was still in prime singing voice. Joined by such friends as trombonist Dickie Wells, trumpeter Clark Terry, and tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate, Rushing shows that he was still relevant on such blues-based songs as "Berkeley Campus Blues," "Blues in the Dark," "I Left My Baby," "Sent for You Yesterday," and "We Remember Prez." Even with Oliver Nelson's arrangements on the first half and an electric rhythm section on the second, both Rushing and the musicians play off each other well, resulting in a swinging set.

One of the most important records ever made, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme was his pinnacle studio outing, that at once compiled all of the innovations from his past, spoke to the current of deep spirituality that liberated him from addictions to drugs and alcohol, and glimpsed at the future innovations of his final two and a half years. Recorded over two days in December 1964, Trane's classic quartet–Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison– stepped into the studio and created one of the most the most thought-provoking, concise, and technically pleasing albums of their bountiful relationship. From the undulatory (and classic) bassline at the intro to the last breathy notes, Trane is at the peak of his logical and emotionally varied soloing, while the rest of the group is completely atttuned to his spiritual vibe.