Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series!
All-Analog 180g Viny LP!
Mastered by Kevin Gray from Original Analog Tapes!
Pressed at Optimal!
There may not be a more apropos album title in all of recorded music than tenor saxophonist Ike Quebec's 1961 classic Heavy Soul. The session marked a comeback for a crucial player in Blue Note history. Quebec had recorded a series of 78s for Alfred Lion in the 1940s and also served as a talent scout who encouraged Lion to record important figures of the emerging bebop scene including Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. After a difficult period through the 1950s, Lion began to reintroduce Quebec's music to jazz fans in 1959 with a series of 45 jukebox singles that were well received and inspired Lion to put the saxophonist back into the studio for a full album session. So, in November 1961 Quebec brought a four-piece band into Van Gelder Studio that included Freddie Roach on organ, Milt Hinton on bass, and Al Harewood on drums. The resulting eight-song set is a soul jazz masterclass with Quebec's robust tenor conjuring a variety of moods from the rhythmic drive of swinging originals like "Acquitted" and "Que's Dilemma" to slow-tempo stunners including "Just One More Chance," "Brother Can You Spare a Dime," and "I Want a Little Girl." A remarkable reading of "The Man I Love" leads into the sultry title piece, which practically drips with soul, but it's the album closer which delivers a showstopper. With Roach and Harewood laying out Quebec and Hinton converse in a duo setting on a spellbinding performance of "Nature Boy" that reverberates in the listener's soul long after the last note has faded.
This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.
Thick-toned tenor Ike Quebec is in excellent form...His ballad statements are quite warm, and he swings nicely on a variety of medium-tempo material.
Features
- Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series
- 180g Vinyl LP
- All-Analog Pressing
- Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from Original Analog Tapes
- Manufactured at Optimal in Germany
Musicians
Ike Quebec | tenor sax |
---|---|
Freddie Roach | organ |
Milt Hinton | bass |
Al Harewood | drums |
Selections
Side I:
- Acquitted
- Just One More Chance
- Que's Dilemma
- Brother Can You Spare a Dime
Side II:
- The Man I Love
- Heavy Soul
- I Want a Little Girl
- Nature Boy