Donald Byrd – Blackjack (Tone Poet Society Exclusive)

This is a Tone Poet Society Exclusive release, limited to 1,000 individually numbered copies, adorned with a Tone Poet Society Exclusive gold foil stamp, and comes with a lithographic print of a photo by Francis Wolff.

1967’s Blackjack was the second in a trilogy of albums—along with Mustang and Slow Drag—that trumpeter Donald Byrd made during his late hard bop period with a cast of musicians including alto saxophonist Sonny Red, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Billy Higgins. In a couple years, Byrd would begin evolving his style into the R&B funk fusion that would set the course for his 1970s musical direction, but for now the trumpeter remained rooted in the hard bop that defined the first decade of his Blue Note tenure with elements of modal jazz and funky boogaloo added into the mix. Highlights of this set predominantly consisting of originals by Byrd and Red include the up-tempo swingers “West of the Pecos” and “Pentatonic,” as well as the groove-based numbers “Blackjack” and “Beale Street” which are the source of samples in hip hop classics by Gang Starr and The Pharcyde.

Blue Note Tone Poet Series

The Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue 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, 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 180g audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket including a lithographic print of a Francis Wolff photograph from the session.

Tracklist:

A1: Blackjack
A2: West Of The Pecos
A3: Loki
B1: Eldorado
B2: Beale Street
B3: Pentatonic

Limited to 1 per customer.