Liner Notes

First released in 1999, The Kicker is a sequel to guitarist Grant Green ’s masterpiece Idle Moments , which was recorded one month earlier with the exact same personnel featuring Green , tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson , pianist Duke Pearson , bassist Bob Cranshaw , and drummer Al Harewood Blue Note Tone Poet Series The Blue Note Tone Poet Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was’ admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley (from Music Matters), a. k. a. the “Tone Poet,” on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the jacket graphics and printing quality to superior LP mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180 gm audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Blue Note/Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. Blue Note Records’ Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tape 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe gatefold packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).

Recorded in 1963, The Kicker was actually vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson ’s first session as a leader for Blue Note, but for reasons lost to time it was shelved, and instead Hutcherson’s album Dialogue was released as his debut two years later.