Liner Notes

Trumpeter Donald Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams had a formidable partnership throughout the early 1960s, making a series of highly regarded hard bop albums. Of particular note are Herbie’s playing on “Great God” and the sophisticated excellence the entire ensemble brings to Duke Pearson’s masterpiece composition “Chant.” 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).

Yet somehow this masterful quintet session from April 1961 (which also features Herbie Hancock , sounding exceptionally fine on his very first Blue Note recording session) remained unreleased for nearly 20 years.