Lou Donaldson – Here ‘Tis (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.

When Lou Donaldson served up a platter of hard bop it always came with a healthy helping of soul, but on the alto saxophonist’s 1961 album Here ‘Tis he delivered an all-time soul jazz classic by altering the recipe with a few new ingredients. Donaldson’s bands were a vital source of new talent for Blue Note as he introducing future legends like Clifford Brown and Horace Silver on his Blue Note sessions. On Here ‘Tis the saxophonist introduced two key new players in the Blue Note story: guitarist Grant Green and Hammond B3 organist Baby Face Willette, both of whom made their first Blue Note sideman appearance here. Green and Willette would link up again five days later to record Green’s debut album Grant’s First Stand, and two days after that they were back in Van Gelder Studio to record Willette’s debut album Face To Face. Here ‘Tis found Donaldson, Green, and Willette joined by drummer Dave Bailey, a hard-grooving band that stays firmly in the pocket for a deeply satisfying set that includes a breezy swing thru the Gershwins’ “A Foggy Day” and Charlie Parker’s “Cool Blues” plus three bluesy Donaldson originals: “Here ‘Tis,” “Watusi Jump,” and “Walk Wid Me.”

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: A Foggy Day
A2: Here 'Tis
A3: Cool Blues
B1: Watusi Jump
B2: Walk Wid Me