Art Taylor A.T.'s Delight 180g LP

Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series!
In honor of Blue Note Records' 80th Anniversary, the legendary Jazz label is launching the Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series. Distinct from the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series, this 2nd series curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman features mid-priced 180g vinyl releases in standard packaging with albums spanning the many eras of the label's history presented by themes: Blue Note Debuts, Blue Grooves, Great Reid Miles Covers, Blue Note Live, and Blue Note Drummer Leaders.

Art Taylor was one of the greatest drummers in modern jazz who propelled the bands of Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan, Dexter Gordon and many more. As a leader Taylor only recorded a handful of albums including 1960's A.T.'s Delight, which is a delightful and inventive set of hard bop that interprets the music of Coltrane, Monk, Davis and Kenny Dorham with a stellar band featuring trumpeter Dave Burns and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine.

Although Art Taylor was one of the busiest modern second-generation jazz drummers, working in the studio with Coleman Hawkins, Donald Byrd, John Coltrane and many others, he only released five albums under his own name, of which A.T.'s Delight was the third. And a delight it is indeed, bright and percussive, and when conga player Carlos 'Patato' Valdes joins Taylor and pianist Wynton Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers on three cuts (Thelonious Monk's 'Epistrophy,' 'Move' and a Taylor calypso-inflected original called 'Cookoo and Fungi'), the rhythm pocket opens into a deep blue sea for the horn men (Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax and Dave Burns on trumpet). 'Move' does exactly that, it moves, and at a blistering pace. Monk's 'Epistrophy,' thanks in part to Valdes, reveals its rumba roots, and has never sounded brighter. The seldom-covered Coltrane composition 'Syeeda's Song Flute' seems likewise refreshed and revived. The lone Taylor original, the driving 'Cookoo and Fungi,' is as sharp and alert is a kitten waking from a nap in the spring sun, and Taylor's drum solo is crisp, efficient and slides seamlessly into the calypso-informed main theme. A.T.'s Delight is a solid outing, with a wonderfully nervous but completely focused energy.