Title 20 for LFC, Tone Poet LPs, New Playlist
Looking for vinyl? I have some titles for sale...
First things first, a tremendous amount of congratulations go out to the world’s greatest football club, Liverpool FC, as they captured the 2024-2025 English Premier League title today. 🏆 I was lucky enough to see this team perform in person last month at Anfield in Liverpool, and the experience was unforgettable. It’s been a magical season, especially since they have a new manager and some players were playing for new contracts along the way to victory. Here’s a photo I took at the match of two young fans foreshadowing what happened this afternoon. #YNWA ⚽️
Bluenote Tone Poet Series
In honor of its 80th anniversary, Blue Note Records launched the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series. Blue Note President Don Was brought in Joe Harley, a.k.a. the “Tone Poet” and co-founder of the Music Matters audiophile series, to produce it. That nickname was given to him by Charles Lloyd, by the way…
Each reissue has been mastered from the original analog master tapes, thanks to Kevin Gray, and pressed on 180g vinyl. Some are packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeves. Now in its sixth year, it's a true celebration of the label’s legacy, designed for both serious listeners and collectors.
This week, I received Kenny Burrell with Art Blakey - On View At The Five Spot Café: The Complete Masters. In the summer of 1959, guitarist Kenny Burrell was already making a name for himself on Blue Note Records. On August 25, he stepped into New York’s Five Spot Café with an out-of-this-world lineup featuring Art Blakey on drums, Tina Brooks on tenor sax, Roland Hanna and Bobby Timmons sharing piano duties, and Ben Tucker on bass. This expanded three-LP edition puts listeners right in the heart of it, offering Burrell’s complete recorded set from that evening for the first time, including six tracks that had never been released… until now. The beautiful packaging comes with some great photos by Francis Wolff and an essay by
, the author of Jazz and Coffee.
I also ordered trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's Blue Spirits, a mesmerizing and multi-layered album full of first-class improvisation. Hubbard made his Blue Note Records debut in 1960 and went on an incredible run throughout the decade, closing it out with Blue Spirits, his final studio album for the label of that era. The album features five original compositions, each brought to life with rich, layered arrangements and a powerful four-horn ensemble. Drawn from two sessions, the first produced tracks like “Soul Surge” and “Cunga Black” with a band that included James Spaulding, Joe Henderson, Kiane Zawadi, Harold Mabern, Larry Ridley, Clifford Jarvis, and congas by Big Black. About a week later, Hubbard returned to the studio with a few changes to the lineup. This time joined by Hank Mobley, McCoy Tyner, Bob Cranshaw, and Pete LaRoca. Another excellent record to own.
Records For Sale
As a hobby, I also operate a small online record store and meticulously curate a collection of vinyl & CDs that reflects my weird and eclectic taste. This isn’t a sales pitch, I just wanted to let folks know in case some titles strike your fancy. Many titles are still sealed — the problem is that I buy new releases directly from the artists or independent labels and receive the download codes. So, a month later, when I received the vinyl copy, I realized that some of it I no longer needed to keep in my collection. Why? Because I only have so much room in my little abode! The gallery below shows a few of the titles I have available…
Playlist
Here's a brand new DL10 for your aural fix. Complete with jazz-funk, soul, and some modern jazz. I also included a new 45 from The Parlor Greens. Oh, and the cover photo is from my favorite lil’ cocktail bar, The Wallingford Dram in Kittery, Maine. Stop in, you won’t be disappointed!
Thanks again for reading. I genuinely appreciate it. Until next week! ❤️
