Blue Mitchell
Heads Up!
Blue Note/Universal Music (Japan) 2014
TYCJ-81078 (CD) SHM-CD. Jewel case. w/obi, booklet.
sleeve : EX-(some slightly wear.)
media : EX(some slightly wear that does not affect to playback.)
An American trumpeter who spent five pivotal years (1959–1964) as a regular member of the Horace Silver Quintet while also cutting a steady stream of leader dates, Blue Mitchell left this outstanding album for Blue Note Records in 1967. The session features a heavyweight octet—Pepper Adams (bs), Junior Cook (ts), Burt Collins (tp), Jerry Dodgion (as, fl), Julian Priester (tb), McCoy Tyner (p), Gene Taylor (b), and Al Foster (ds)—with arrangements by Jimmy Heath and Duke Pearson. Known primarily as a hard-bopper, Mitchell pivots here toward richly orchestrated soul jazz, driven by a funky rhythm section and thick, punchy horn voicings. The relaxed, elegant slow numbers that drift and breathe across the set are just as compelling—this one’s a class act through and through.
This edition is the 2014 SHM-CD reissue from Blue Note’s 75th Anniversary The Masterworks series, newly remastered at 192kHz/24bit and fully compatible with all standard CD players. A top-shelf recommendation.
Track 1: Heads Up! Feet Down!
Track 5: Len Sirrah