Blue Note Records Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissues. Joe Harley co-founder of the acclaimed Music Matters Jazz audiophile vinyl label is the producer of this new series, handpicked titles mastered from the original master tapes on 180g Vinyl in deluxe covers. Mastering is done by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and vinyl is pressed at Record Technology Incorporated, RTI in the USA.

• Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series
• All Analog Mastering
• Cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
• Mastered From Original Analog Master Tapes
• Reissue supervised by Joe Harley (Music Matters)
• 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl Pressed at RTI USA
• Deluxe Cover

The Blue Note Tone Poet Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was’ admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley (from Music Matters), a.k.a. the “Tone Poet,” on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the jacket graphics and printing quality to superior LP mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180-gram audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Blue Note/Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is it!

"Per Don Was's direction, everything about this reissue series closely mirrors the Music Matters releases that so impressed Was..." - Michael Fremer, Analogplanet

The winds of change were blowing through Wayne Shorter’s life and career in 1970. The saxophonist had just left Miles Davis’ group and was soon to form his collective fusion band Weather Report. His music was evolving too as he began to delve into his own unique fusion explorations on his previous two Blue Note recordings Super Nova and Moto Grosso Feio. Recorded in August 1970, the mesmerizing Odyssey of Iska would be the last release of Shorter’s early Blue Note period. The album was a tribute to his daughter Iska—who had been born the year before with severe brain damage—with four immersive Shorter compositions portraying a variety of moods: “Wind,” “Storm,” “Calm,” and “Joy.”

Memphis-born trumpeter Booker Little was a bright light of the jazz world who died tragically young at age 23. A prodigiously talented hornman as well as a composer, Little first came to prominence as a member of Max Roach’s band which he joined in 1956 after the death of Clifford Brown, another trumpet great gone far too soon. Little only made a handful of albums as a leader during his brief career including his astounding debut Booker Little 4 & Max Roach recorded in 1958 for United Artists when he was just 20 years old. The full breadth of Little’s artistry leaps out of the grooves with his brilliant tone, astonishing technique, and inventive lines matched by Roach’s fiery drums throughout this engaging set that also featured George Coleman on tenor saxophone, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Art Davis on bass. The album opens with Miles Davis’ “Milestones” and includes the standards “Sweet and Lovely” and a stunning version of “Moonlight Becomes You,” but the album’s centerpiece is the trio of Little originals: “Rounder’s Mood,” “Dungeon Waltz,” and “Jewel’s Tempo.”

This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe tip-on jacket.

Musicians:

Booker Little - trumpet
George Coleman - tenor sax
Tommy Flanagan - piano
Arthur Davis - bass
Max Roach - drums

Track Listing:

A1: Milestones
A2: Sweet And Lovely
A3: Rounders Mood

B1:. Dungeon Waltz
B2: Jewel's Tempo
B3. Moonlight Becomes You

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫