Bobby Hutcherson recorded frequently for Blue Note in the 1960s, though this session remained unissued until 1999. The first half features the vibraphonist in a cooking hard bop session with Joe Henderson and Duke Pearson, starting with an energetic take on the normally slow ballad “If Ever I Would…

One of Bobby Hutcherson’s best albums, Stick-Up! was also his first official release not to feature drummer Joe Chambers, who was a major part of Hutcherson’s outside leanings. Instead, Stick-Up! stakes out the middle ground between hard bop and the avant-garde, offering a set of structured yet advanced modal…

An entirely worthy Bobby Hutcherson LP that went unissued until 1980, Patterns finds the vibist working in typically challenging territory; what makes this session distinctive is that it features some of drummer and favorite Hutcherson composer Joe Chambers’ most structured work, though that hardly means it’s traditional or unadventurous….

Perhaps the single album that best sums up Bobby Hutcherson’s early musical personality, Components is appropriately split into two very distinct halves. The first features four Hutcherson originals in a melodic but still advanced hard bop style, while the latter half has four free-leaning avant-garde pieces by drummer Joe…

Bobby Hutcherson’s late-’60s partnership with tenor saxophonist Harold Land had always produced soulful results, but not until San Francisco did that translate into a literal flirtation with funk and rock. After watching several advanced post-bop sessions gather dust in the vaults, Hutcherson decided to experiment with his sound a…

Producer Alfred Lion was very impressed when he attended John Hammond’s Spirituals to Swing concert of Dec. 23, 1938, which had introduced boogie woogie pianists Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis to New York audiences. Two weeks later, he started the Blue Note label by recording nine Ammons solos,…

Bluesnik, Jackie McLean’s seventh session as a leader for Blue Note Records, was one of only two recordings issued by McLean in 1961. With a lineup of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Doug Watkins, pianist Kenny Drew, and drummer Pete La Roca, McLean laid down a hard blowing session of…

In 1963, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean was well aware of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. He assembled a band with vibist Bobby Hutcherson, who had already played with Eric Dolphy, drummer Tony Williams, bassist Eddie Khan, and trombonist/composer Grachan Moncur III. While still adhering to the hard bop principle,…

Jackie McLean had always been a highly emotional soloist, so it makes sense that he was one of the first hard bop veterans to find a new voice in the burning intensity of jazz’s emerging avant-garde. McLean had previously experimented with Coltrane’s angular modes and scales and Ornette’s concept…

This 1967 session is notable for the presence of Ornette Coleman in the role of sideman, on trumpet no less. There are only three tunes on New and Old Gospel, one side-long piece by McLean, a four-part suite entitled “Lifeline,” and two works by Coleman, including the title track…