Analogue Productions - ABNJ 84123 - 200 Gram Virgin Vinyl
AAA 100% Analogue - Numbered Limited Edition - Blue Note ST 84123
Mastered By Steve Hoffman & Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering
Pressed at QRP Quality Record Pressings
The Absolute Sound Super Disc List TAS Harry Pearson Super LP List
Analogue Productions' Blue Note and Nat "King" Cole Reissues WIN A Positive Feedback 2010 Brutus Award!
"...if you haven't picked up every one of the Blue Note and Nat King Cole reissues , you're really missing out!" - David W. Robinson, Positive Feedback,
"Holy shit! We went out and bought the Analogue Productions Blue Note Reissue 45 RPM Limited Edition. Probably the best sounding album in the RCN collection. Pure audio porn. This masterpiece makes us want to invest in upgrading the equipment. Cartridges, turntables, amps. Yikes!" - Record Collector News, May/June newsletter
"…Once you get into the swing of the consistently cool grooves you just want to stay there, which makes the four side changes here more painful than on some of the other Blue Note double 45s. No matter, luxuriating in the big, warm, soft yet detailed sound is easily worth the get-up-and-turn-it-over-effort. A highly recommended Blue Note reissue." Music = 9/11; Sound = 9/11 – Michael Fremer
A classic Blue Note, guitarist Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue (1963) oozes with all that title suggests...The sound is famously great: wide open, natural, warm, and simply 'there.' Burrell's electric guitar has superb tone and articulation, Stanley Turrentine's tenor sax a creamy, brassy bite, Major Holley Jr.'s bass a fat sense of weight, and the drums and conga realistic snap and texture." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound
Alfred Lion considered Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue his favorite production and well he should have. Without piano, Burrell, Stanley Turrentine and company get a clean open sound and a deep groove on such classic compositions as the title tune and "Chitlins Con Carne," which has become a blues band staple.
"The sound is famously great: wide open, natural, warm, and simply 'there'. Burrell's electric guitar has superb tone and articulation, Stanley Turrentine's tenor sax a creamy, brassy bite, Major Holley Jr.'s bass a fat sense of .weight.., and the drums and conga realistic snap and texture." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound,
Kenny Burrell has led over 100 albums in his long career and is the epitome of good taste and melodic swing, never playing a phrase that would be considered out-of-place or unworthy. He first recorded in 1951 with Dizzy Gillespie and was a major part of the Detroit jazz scene before emerging in New York in 1956. Burrell was one of the very first guitarists to be showcased in a pianoless trio, and when he was signed to Blue Note, he became one of the most influential guitarists in jazz. However to hear Burrell at his most soulful and bluesy, one has to find recordings where he is teamed with a particularly inspiring stylist. 1963’s Midnight Blue is considered one of the most exciting recordings of Kenny Burrell’s long career. It was a magical occasion that teamed Burrell with the passionate tenor-saxophonist Stanley Turrentine in a pianoless quintet that also includes Ray Barretto on congas. With Turrentine (who is immediately recognizable within two sounds) infusing each note with an excess of soul and Barretto giving the blues-oriented music a Latin tinge, Burrell raises the heat and is heard at his most exhilarating and extroverted. His soulful playing on such songs as “Chitlins Con Carne,” “Saturday Night Blues” and “Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You” is so greasy and emotional that it reminds one that both B.B. King and Duke Ellington often cited Kenny Burrell as their favorite guitarist. While Kenny Burrell has recorded scores of albums since this time, Midnight Blue cannot be topped and will always be one of the key recordings that he will be remembered for. This superbly recorded classic needs to be in every jazz collection
Musicians:
Stanley Turrentine, tenor sax
Kenny Burrell, guitar
Major Holley, Jr., bass
Bill English, drums
Ray Barretto, conga
Kenny Burrell Midnight Blue
1. Chittlins Con Carne
2. Mule
3. Soul Lament
4. Midnight Blue
5. Wavy Gravy
6. Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You
7. Saturday Night Blues