Curtis Amy & Dupree Bolton Katanga! 180g LP

Michael Fremer Rated 9/11 Music, 9/11 Sonics!

Who are these guys? That's the usual reaction of anyone fortunate enough to have come across this remarkable (and remarkably rare) session from 1963. The last of six albums saxophonist Curtis Amy recorded for Pacific Jazz in the early-1960s, Katanga! transcends not only the rest but plenty of other recorded jazz from that period as well. Trumpeter Dupree Bolton's brilliant playing here is simply breathtaking in one of his very few recorded appearances during a career plagued with personal problems. Bolton and Amy are joined by guitarist Ray Crawford, pianist Jack Wilson, bassist Victor Gaskin, and drummer Doug Sides on this gem of an album.

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. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

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 packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).

Everything is true that you might have heard or read about this 'off the beaten Tone Poet path' release... World Pacific owner and recording engineer Richard Bock does an outstanding job recording all of the instruments, placing them in a believable three-dimensional space. Crawford's guitar in particular is reproduced with a rich juicy/crisp tone and texture you're sure to enjoy. Add new useful annotation by Stereophile contributing editor and noted jazz journalist Thomas Conrad and you have a not to be missed Tone Poet release previously only available as a costly import of dubious origin. You won't regret the purchase. I didn't.