Duke Pearson: Wahoo (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series) [BLUE NOTE]

Why you'll love it

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series reissue was mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl in Germany. Pearson wrote five of the six tunes, and AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls it one of the finest sophisticated hard bop dates Blue Note made in the mid-'60s.

This edition

• Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series
• 180g vinyl
• Mastered from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray
• Pressed in Germany
• Stereo mix

About the album

Duke Pearson was a pianist who thought like an arranger, and on Wahoo he wrote himself a band to match. He cut Wahoo on November 24, 1964, with a front line of Donald Byrd on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor and James Spaulding on alto and flute, over Bob Cranshaw's bass and Mickey Roker's drums.

The tunes are the draw. "Amanda" and "Bedouin" each stretch past nine minutes, giving the horns room to wander through Pearson's elegant, slightly exotic changes, while the title track swings hard and "ESP (Extrasensory Perception)" gets properly adventurous. "Farewell Machelle" is a short, lovely piano trio interlude, and the session closes on Byrd's own "Fly Little Bird Fly." Henderson and Spaulding make a fine pairing, the tenor's grit set against the alto's bright, darting lines.

It's the sort of Blue Note date that collectors whisper about to each other in the jazz section. We'd whisper too, but the record's playing.

Also at Kops: more Duke Pearson on vinyl · browse Classic Jazz

Tracklist

Listen

On Blue Note (cat# 6510372), a reissue of the 1964 album.