Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series – 2024 Release Schedule:
Happy Tone Poet Announcement Day! Here’s an annotated, chronological list of this year’s lineup with dates, personnel, notes, and an embedded playlist so you can get yourself as revved up as I am this morning.
January 5, 2024
Lou Donaldson – Midnight Creeper - This album’s older brother Mr. Shing-A-Ling will forever have an 80-yard head start in the 100-yard dash against Midnight Creeper because of “Ode to Billy Joe.” That said, track-for-track, Midnight Creeper is a more varied record, with even better performances from Lonnie Smith and George Benson. Sultry where it should be, and groovy everywhere else. Don’t even THINK about using that last sentence as your Tinder bio.
Lou Donaldson - alto sax
George Benson - guitar
Blue Mitchell - cornet
Lonnie Smith - organ
Idris Muhammad - drums
Elvin Jones – Poly-Currents - Recorded September 26, 1969 and released the following year, Elvin’s piano-less septet serves up a potpourri of post-bop excellence that might even make you forget your reservations about the album cover.
Elvin Jones - drums
George Coleman - tenor sax
Joe Farrell - tenor sax, flutes, English horn
Pepper Adams - baritone sax
Fred Tompkins - flute
Wilbur Little - bass
Candido Camero - congas
February 2, 2024
Blue Mitchell – Down With It - Recorded July 14, 1965 and released the following spring, this record is overshadowed by its older brother The Thing To Do, but hopefully gets another chance at bat. The Sidewinder Manifesto is at work on the opening “Hi-Heel Sneakers,” and the buried treasure is the incredible ballad penned by Japanese trumpet legend Terumasa Hino, “Alone, Alone, and Alone.”
Blue Mitchell – trumpet
Junior Cook – tenor sax
Chick Corea – piano
Gene Taylor – bass
Al Foster – drums
Joe Lovano – Trio Fascination: Edition One - Recorded mid-September 1997 and released September 8, 1998, this is one of my favorite jazz records of the 90s. Head straight for “Impressionistic,” then for “Eternal Joy.” This is a power trio!
Joe Lovano – His entire saxophone collection, Alto Clarinet
Dave Holland - bass
Elvin Jones - drums, general badassery
March 1, 2024
Jackie McLean – Action - Please don’t rescind my Jackie McLean Fan Club membership card when I confess to only having acquired this album as part of the Mosaic box a few years back, and I don’t know it all that well. For that reason alone, I’m looking forward to the action (action action) when I drop this needle on this one! Recorded in September 1964, and released September 1967.
Jackie McLean – alto sax
Charles Tolliver – trumpet
Bobby Hutcherson – vibes
Cecil McBee – bass
Billy Higgins – drums
Booker Ervin – Tex Book Tenor - If you own the Back from the Gig twofer or were non-plussed by the CD copy protection fiasco of the mid-2000s, you may already be familiar with this excellent session. If not, put the fine china in a locked cabinet, send the kids to stay with their grandparents, and tie down any loose objects—this record takes no prisoners. Recorded June 24, 1968, issued on LP in 1976, and quasi-issued on CD in 2005.
Booker Ervin - tenor saxophone
Kenny Barron - piano
Woody Shaw - trumpet
Jan Arnet - bass
Billy Higgins - drums
April 5, 2024
Horace Silver – Silver’s Serenade - There are those who’ll say this is a “standard great” Horace Silver record. They’re not technically wrong, but they’re not giving Silver’s Serenade enough credit, either. I suppose when you’ve got a track record like Horace Silver, if you don’t make an A+ every time, an “A” can seem like a “B-”. The swan song for Silver’s classic quintet was recorded in May, 1963 and released in August.
Horace Silver - piano
Junior Cook - tenor sax
Blue Mitchell - trumpet
Gene Taylor - bass
Roy Brooks - drums
Anthony Williams – Life Time - The album voted most likely to explain why Tony Williams found George Coleman too straightforward for the saxophone chair in Miles Davis’s Second Great Quintet. If you like your jazz melodic and danceable, this may not be the record for you. On the other hand, if you lead a life of adventure and seek a soundtrack of surprises, order early and order often! Recorded August 1964, and released January 1965.
Tony (the artist soon to be formerly known as Anthony) Williams – So. Many. Drums.
Sam Rivers – tenor saxophone
Bobby Hutcherson – vibes, marimba
Herbie Hancock – piano
Ron Carter, Richard Davis, Gary Peacock – bass. not all at once.
May 3, 2024
Donald Byrd – Byrd’s Eye View - It was only a matter of time before the Tone Poet spelunking team hit the vault holding the tapes for the Transition label. They’re going with a heavy-hitter at the top of the order with this Donald Byrd gem. Look at that lineup—it’s almost like a Jazz Messengers record! But between Byrd’s superb performances and special guest trumpeter Joe Gordon—usually a west coast cat—what this title lacks in familiarity it makes up for in quality. I can’t wait to hear what Joe and Kevin have done to sweeten the sounds on this record. Recorded December 1955 and released sometime in 1956.
Donald Byrd - trumpet
Joe Gordon - trumpet
Hank Mobley - tenor saxophone
Horace Silver - piano
Doug Watkins - bass
Art Blakey - drums
Bobby Hutcherson – Total Eclipse - Everything that the Bobby Hutcherson/Harold Land duo led in the late 60s is must-hear material, and the presence of young Chick Corea on this session makes it mandatory. Hutch makes multiple appearances in the 2024 Tone Poet lineup, giving us multiple reasons to celebrate!
Bobby Hutcherson – vibes, marimba
Harold Land – tenor sax, flute
Chick Corea – piano
Reggie Johnson – bass
Joe Chambers – drums
June 7, 2024
Doug Watkins – Watkins At Large - Another treasure from Transition circa 1956, this is one of the two sessions led by bassist Doug Watkins during his career. This session is beautifully recorded, and I expect the Tone Poet treatment is going to make my subwoofer don its superhero costume. Watch out neighbors—Watkins is at large!
Doug Watkins-bass
Hank Mobley-tenor sax
Donald Byrd-trumpet
Kenny Burrell-guitar
Duke Jordan-piano
Arthur Taylor-drums
Kenny Dorham & Jackie McLean – Inta Somethin’ - Pacific Jazz makes its first appearance in the 2024 Tone Poet lineup with an overlooked live record sure to satisfy fans of both Kenny Dorham and Jackie McLean. Hard bop, blues, and standards are on the menu this evening, and the live capture is exceptional. I have only one question—is it possible they only recorded ~40 minutes of music that evening? Where’s the rest of the gig? Inquiring minds want to know! Recorded November 13, 1961 and released the following year.
Kenny Dorham - trumpet
Jackie McLean - alto sax
Walter Bishop Jr. - piano
Leroy Vinnegar - bass
Art Taylor - drums
July 5, 2024
Donald Byrd – Byrd Blows On Beacon Hill - Byrd is back with another Transition title, though this time he’s got nowhere to hide—a trumpet quartet is a pressure situation for the sole horn in the studio. Spoiler alert: that’s not a problem here. Recorded and released in 1956.
Donald Byrd - trumpet
Ray Santisi - piano
Doug Watkins - bass
Jimmy Zitano - drums
Wayne Shorter – Odyssey of Iska - I haven’t asked him, but if I know Joe Harley, he’s probably more excited about this Tone Poet in 2024 than any other. ‘nuff said. My LP has a scratch on Side B that makes it unplayable, so I’m out of touch with this album—I’m looking forward to getting reacquainted!
Wayne Shorter – tenor & soprano sax
Ron Carter, Cecil McBee – bass
Gene Bertoncini – guitar
Billy Hart, Alphonse Mouzon, Frank Cuomo – drums
David Friedman – vibes, marimba
August 2, 2024
Lee Morgan – Taru - Recorded in February 1968, but like several other Morgan sessions, it was shelved until 1980. The stench of shelving may have given Taru an unfair reputation as “lesser than,” which is both unfair and untrue. Team Tone Poet is on the case once again, liberating great sessions from the darkness of vaultitude to the brightly lit living rooms of jazz nerds everywhere.
Lee Morgan – trumpet
Bennie Maupin – tenor sax
John Hicks – piano
George Benson – guitar
Reggie Workman – bass
Billy Higgins – drums
Bobby Hutcherson – Medina - Don’t cry for me Hutch Medina, I’m certain your sibling Spiral (which features the same lineup) will receive the Tone Poet treatment in due order. But in the meantime, cast aside your LT/Classic pressing with cover art unworthy of even lining the bottom of your canary’s cage. Instead, look forward to devouring some of the best, and most adventurous jazz on Blue Note during the late 1960s. I LOVE this record!
Bobby Hutcherson – vibes, marimba
Harold Land – tenor sax
Stanley Cowell – piano
Reggie Johnson – bass
Joe Chambers – drums
September 6, 2024
The Modest Jazz Trio – Good Friday Blues - Full disclosure: I don’t know anything about this record. I’ve never heard it. Which makes me quintuple-excited for Sept 6, 2024! And I’m intrigued by a trio where two of the three musicians are named Red.
Jim “why is everybody named ‘Red’ but me?” Hall – guitar
Red “it’s not that easy, being Red” Kelly – bass
Red “and this is my other brother Darryl” Mitchell – piano
Jackie McLean – Let Freedom Ring - The inclusion of this title in the 2024 lineup has tons of jazz fans dancing in the streets. This 1962 masterpiece is a the musical, social, political, and artistic rocket ship designed and launched by Jackie that liberated his inner muse, and gave him the confidence to go one step beyond.
Jackie McLean — alto sax
Walter Davis, Jr. — piano
Herbie Lewis — bass
Billy Higgins — drums
October 4, 2024
Booker Little – Booker Little 4 and Max Roach - A gem from the United Artists catalog that’s towards the top of my list for next year. Great band, great tunes, and I’ve never been happy with any digital edition I’ve heard. Help us Joebi-WaS-Kevnobi. You guys are our only hope.
Booker Little – trumpet
George Coleman – tenor sax
Tommy Flanagan – piano
Art Davis – bass
Max Roach – drums
Donald Byrd – Kofi - I hope Joe doesn’t hold me to the promise of changing the name of the account to @jazzandkofi because that’s going to suck for SEO. But for the record, I did harass him relentlessly about this record for the Tone Poet series because it’s probably my favorite Donald Byrd album, ever. It’s short but sweet—a December 1969 and 1970 session deliver roughly 35 minutes of electric jazz magic. Will the CD/digital bonus track “The Loud Minority” make an appearance? Time will tell.
Donald Byrd - trumpet
Duke Pearson - electric piano
Wally Richardson - guitar
William Campbell - trombone
Frank Foster - tenor sax
Lew Tabackin - tenor sax, flute
Ron Carter - bass
Bob Cranshaw - electric bass
Mickey Roker - drums
Airto Moreira - drums, percussion
Dom Um Romão - percussion
November 1, 2024
Clifford Jordan – Cliff Jordan - I suppose we’re all familiar enough now with Clifford Jordan to call him Cliff. But few are familiar with this album, which may come as a shock when you see who’s on it. Salivating yet? Recorded June 2, 1957 and released later that year.
Cliff Jordan - tenor sax
Lee Morgan - trumpet
Curtis Fuller - trombone
John Jenkins - alto sax
Ray Bryant - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Art Taylor – drums
Bobby Hutcherson – Dialogue - Another long-requested fan favorite, Hutch turned a lot of heads with Dialogue when first released, but scarcity/expense has kept it from many-a-turntable over the past 15 years. I love this record, but pay attention to who’s on it and have a listen before deciding when spinning it would be most appropriate. I’d suggest Hutcherson’s Total Eclipse for when the Thanksgiving guests arrive, and Dialogue for when you want them to split.
Bobby Hutcherson – vibraphone
Sam Rivers – tenor & soprano sax, bass clarinet, flute
Andrew Hill – piano
Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
Richard Davis – bass
Joe Chambers – drums
December 6, 2024
Freddie Roach – Good Move - Split between trio and quintet performances, Roach delivers plenty of groove without ever grandstanding. I got really into this record when that Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit was having a moment, and its remained in rotation ever since. Hank Mobley FTW! Recorded and released (allegedly) sometime in 1963.
Freddie Roach - organ
Blue Mitchell - trumpet
Hank Mobley - tenor sax
Eddie Wright - guitar
Clarence Johnston - drums
Hank Mobley – A Slice of the Top - Last, but ABSOLUTELY not least, Hank Mobley’s 1966 masterpiece was criminally shelved until 1979. Then a further crime was committed by allowing this abomination of an album jacket to be used—who can blame anyone for thinking this record shipped with a cut-out notch already in place? Nothing could be further from the truth. A Slice of the Top is one of my favorite Hank Mobley records, easily the equal of his best-known work. I predict this will be the surprise, breakout success title of the 2024 season.
So great to see the Mobley record getting some love.
Some great titles there....Watkins At Large is a terrific choice for the Tone Poet treatment