liner notes by Ira Gitler and Bob Blumenthal. All tracks have been digitally remastered. This is part of Blue Note Records ""Rudy Van Gelder Editions"" series. Japanese limited edition remaster This album's title and cover welcome the listener to trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's initial outing as a bandleader, and it's a fine Blue Note debut. (Prior to this release, Hubbard had played with many East Coast jazz luminaries, most notably Sonny Rollins and Eric Dolphy.) Recorded in 1960, OPEN SESAME features a stellar band that includes pianist McCoy Tyner and saxophonist Tina Brooks. The swinging title track, penned by Brooks, showcases the horns, but it also allows the rest of the band to get into a tight groove. The following tune finds the ensemble easing into Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke's classic ballad ""But Beautiful,"" with Hubbard and Tyner taking center stage for much of the song. An outstanding first album, OPEN SESAME stands up to Hubbard's excellent latter-day recordings."  (less)

with a remarkable performance of ""In A Sentimental Mood."" Ellington's chattering, bell-like accompaniment sets off Coltrane's fulsome, rhapsodic interpretaion in sharp relief. For Johnny Hodges--one of Duke's main men, and an early employer of Coltrane--""In A Sentimental Mood"" was a showpiece. The Rabbit practically owned the tune, and yet Hodges considered Coltrane's to be the finest version of the song he'd ever heard. Which indicates how deeply rooted in the jazz and blues tradition Coltrane always was. DUKE ELLINGTON & JOHN COLTRANE represented an opportunity for Trane to step back and reflect upon the elemental lyricism and swing that were at the heart of even his most adventurous flights--and to silence those nay-sayers who were carping about how his band with Eric Dolphy was ""anti-jazz."" ""Take The Coltrane"" offers up one of Duke's great vamp tunes, and illustrates just how well the master knew how to accomodate Coltrane and play to his strengths, gently prodding him into fresh melodic directions. with its insistent bluesy hosannas and tart, off-center harmonies, ""Take The Coltrane"" is an improviser's delight, as the pianist offers elegant harmonic contrasts to Trane's backwoods preacher. ""Big Nick"" is Trane's tip of the hat to tenor man and raconteur Nick Nicholas, a tipsying, elusive little melody with a hint of Sidney Bechet (and Hodges) that allows the saxophonist to range up and down his soprano. The remainder of the repetoire is from the Ellington/Strayhorn songbook, beginning with Duke's infectious minor blues, ""Stevie."" Ellington treats his keyboard as a mini-orchestra, and Coltrane rides Sam Woodyard's backbeat into the sun. Strayhorn's ""My Little Brown Book"" opens with a bell-like fantasia between piano and Elvin Jones' cymbals, as Coltrane demonstrates a variety of refined ballad inflections. ""Angelica"" offers an infectuous Afro-Cuban dialogue between Ellington and Woodyard, and an earnest, fervent Coltrane who doesn't rise to the tune's humor the way a Sonny Rollins would, but when Aaron Bell seats that 4/4 in the bass...look out. ""The Feeling Of Jazz"" is just that, closing things out with a classic blues that shuffles happily between swing and a hard rock.JazzTimes (5/96, p.130) - ""...the playing? Poignant, powerful....Blues is the lingua franca. Duke gives Trane plenty of running room, as Monk did, laying out his solo on `Take The Coltrane,' comping nimbly elsewhere. No bonus tracks, and none needed."""  (less)

notes by Bob Blumenthal and Nat Hentoff. This is part of Blue Note's RVG series. Joined here by organist and longtime foil Shirley Scott, Mr. T gets down and funky over such standards as ""God Bless The Child"" and ""Without A Song,"" as well as originals like ""Major's Minor"" and ""Sara's Dance."" Also features some fine work by drummer Al Harewood. CD contains 2 bonus tracks. CD comes in Jpn LP Sleeve."  (less)

Hentoff. Digitally remastered by Ron McMaster. This is part of Blue Note's Limited Edition Connoisseur series. Japanese edition features a limited-edition LP-style slipcase. Mastered in 24-bit resolution. CD comes in Jpn LP Sleeve. While most practitioners of the instrument have followed closely on the heels of Jimmy Smith, on INTO SOMETHIN', Larry Young demonstrates his unique horn-like approach to melody. With the help of Sam Rivers (saxophone), Grant Green (guitar), and Elvin Jones (drums), Young puts forth a swinging collection of tunes that isn't particularly drenched in the traditional gospel/soul sound usually produced by an organ ensemble. Instead, this is a crisp, exciting session that, along with UNITY, would eventually help make Young one of the legends of the B-3. The effortless waltzing bounce of ""Tyrone"" opens the set as Rivers and Young glide through the melody while Jones swings intensely in the background. The heavy Latin groove of ""Plaza de Toros"" sets up some stunning rhythmic interactions between Grant, Young, and Jones. The intricate ""Paris Eyes"" and the bluesy ""Backup"" are both excellent swinging numbers that further display Young's non-traditional approach to the instrument and his masterful soloing prowess. Finally, the classic ""Ritha""--presented here in both trio and quartet versions--is an exhilarating composition that displays the full wealth of Young's legendary abilities."  (less)

(84094). HOOTIN N TOOTIN, by Fred Jackson, features digitally remastered sound and a limited edition slipcase on this Japanese import edition. CD comes in Jpn LP Sleeve. Unjustly ignored at the time of its release, Fred Jackson's lone album, Hootin' 'N Tootin', is a thoroughly enjoyable set of funky soul-jazz with hard bop overtones. It is true that Jackson doesn't try anything new on the set, but he proves to be a capable leader, coaxing hot, infectious performances out of guitarist Willie Jones, organist Earl Vandyke, and drummer Wilbert Hogan, all of whom were collegues of Jackson in the Lloyd Price band. All of the songs on the album are Jackson originals, and while there are no substantial, memorable melodies, they provide an excellent foundation for the group's smoking interplay.  (less)

remastered limited edition. CD comes in Jpn LP Sleeve. When alto saxophonist Julian ""Cannonball"" Adderley, a high school band director from Florida, passed through New York with brother Nat during a school break, he found more excitement than he was counting on. After Julian offered to sit in for a late reedman, the session's leader, bassist Oscar Pettiford confronted him with the challenging changes of ""I'll Remember April,"" at a breakneck tempo designed to humiliate the young upstart. Instead, Adderley responded with a solo that became the talk of the town; within days, his recording career had begun; and within a year he was able to give up his teaching job to front a full-time band. Adderley gave up his own band in 1957 when he had the opportunity to become a sideman in Miles Davis' epic ensemble with John Coltrane, resulting in some of the greatest jazz recordings of all time (including MILESTONES and KIND OF BLUE). Davis returned the favor in March of 1958, appearing as a sideman on Adderley's all-star quintet date for Blue Note, and the resulting session is indeed SOMETHIN' ELSE. Both horn players are at their peak of lyrical invention, crafting gorgeous, flowing blues lines on the title tune and ""One For Daddy-O,"" as the Hank Jones/Sam Jones/Art Blakey rhythm team creates a taut, focused groove (pianist Hank Jones' sly, intuitive orchestrations are studies of harmonic understatement). Adderley's lush, romantic improvisation on ""Dancing In The Dark"" is worthy of Charlie Parker or Johnny Hodges, while the band refurbishes ""Autumn Leaves"" and ""Love For Sale"" into personal cliche-free swingers. And ""Alison's Uncle"" puts a boppish coda on SOMETHIN' ELSE, one of the most gloriously laid-back blowing sessions of the hard bop era.Q (8/99, p.122) - 4 stars (out of 5) - ""...one of jazz's 'perfect' albums..."" Musician (12/92, p.99) - ""...A champ quintet with proper balance of space and power. Blissful cool bop grooves....Among the candidates for `greatest Miles Davis record'....Separation and presence on this remastered disc are nothing short of extraordinary.."""  (less)

notes by Joe Goldberg. This is part of the Blue Note Limited Edition Connoisseur series. Remastered Japanese edition. Jazz pianist Walter Davis Jr. is one of those solid, dependable accompanists--for Art Blakey, Jackie McLean, Max Roach, and others--whose worth sometimes gets taken for granted. DAVIS CUP, Davis's debut as a leader, was originally released in 1959 and remains a hard-bop fan's delight. Davis's style is a nigh on perfect synthesis of the mercurial bebop of Bud Powell and the thoughtful cool of Thelonious Monk. With a group that's quintessentially Blue Note (Jackie McLean, pre-funk Donald Byrd, Art Taylor, and Sam Jones) and a program of earnestly swinging originals, Davis's CUP surely runneth over in the best possible way.  (less)

notes by Bob Blumenthal and Nat Hentoff. This is part of Blue Note's RVG series.  (less)