Many great Blue Note artists have hailed from the jazz hotbed of Detroit over the course of the label's history including Donald Byrd, Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers, Thad Jones, Elvin Jones, Joe Henderson, and many more. Perhaps the only instance on an entire band coming out of Detroit was with Kenny Cox and The Contemporary Jazz Quintet, a fantastic but unsung combo led by pianist Kenny Cox which featured Joe Henderson's brother Leon Henderson on tenor saxophone, Charles Moore on trumpet, Ron Brooks on bass, and Danny Spencer on drums.

 

The quintet made two excellent albums in the late 1960s including their debut album, Introducing Kenny Cox and The Contemporary Jazz Quintet, a hidden gem of the Blue Note catalog which was recorded in 1968. The band was certainly influenced by the post-bop explorations of the Miles Davis Quintet with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams, but the CJQ exhibited its own unique sensibilities on memorable originals like "Mystique," "Trance Dance," "Diahnn," and David Durrah's beautiful piece "You."

 

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

 

Though well-versed in the traditions of jazz standards and bop, Cox and his ensemble resembles most closely here the classic Miles Davis quintet of the mid- and late '60s. But rather than merely aping Davis, the Contemporary Jazz Quintet had a muscular and urban group sensibility all its own. In that sense, this is fiery, expansive, and cerebral post-bop of the highest order.

 

Musicians

Ron Brooks bass

Kenny Cox piano

Leon Henderson tenor sax

Charles Moore trumpet

Danny Spencer drums

 

Side A:

Mystique

You

Trance Dance

Eclipse

Side B:

Number Four

Diahnn