From the crackling opening notes of “Lover Come Back to Me,” it’s clear that Off to the Races is one of Donald Byrd’s most invigorating sessions of the late ’50s. Working with a stellar supporting band — Jackie McLean (alto sax), Wynton Kelly (piano), Pepper Adams (bari sax), Sam…

Donald Byrd was at his peak as a straight-ahead hard bop band leader in the early ’60s, turning a series of remarkably solid, enjoyable sessions for Blue Note. Royal Flush is no exception to the rule. Recorded in the fall of 1961, Royal Flush finds Byrd once again working…

This 2004 remastered Rudy Van Gelder edition of Donald Byrd’s At the Half Note Cafe (the original double-disc version was only issued for the first time in 2000) appears to add one extra track — “Theme (Pure D. Funk),” which clocks in at 1:51 and is also on the…

Fuego — a title that might be somewhat misleading — is the final Blue Note recording exclusively pairing Donald Byrd with Jackie McLean, a fruitful partnership that set the yin of the (in this case) restrained trumpeter, against the yang of the tart and extroverted alto saxophonist. While not…

Donald Byrd’s 1961 recording Free Form is both a smorgasbord of modern jazz styles and a breakthrough album showing the Detroit born trumpeter’s versatility and interest in diversity. At age 30, turning down offers to teach and a full decade before turning to commercial funk fusion with his Blackbyrds,…

It is surprising that Lee Morgan’s The Procrastinator was not released when it was recorded in 1967 for the sextet (which includes Wayne Shorter, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Billy Higgins) lives up to their potential on a well-rounded set of originals by…

Lee Morgan was the leading trumpeter in hard bop during the 1960s and he recorded quite a few classic albums for Blue Note. This is one of them. The CD reissue (which adds an alternate take of the title cut to the original five-song program) features Morgan at his…

This session (reissued on CD by Blue Note) is best known for introducing Lee Morgan’s beautiful ballad “Ceora,” but actually all five selections (which include Morgan’s “Cornbread,” “Our Man Higgins,” “Most Like Lee,” and the standard “Ill Wind”) are quite memorable. The trumpeter/leader performs with a perfectly complementary group…

Sonic Boom was not released until 1979 and then remained in print only for a brief time before eventually being reissued years later. In addition to the great trumpeter Lee Morgan and a fine rhythm section (pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Billy Higgins), the well-rounded set…

As Lee Morgan’s career moved from hard and post-bop to soul-jazz, Delightfulee serves as a further bridge in a half-and-half fashion. Four of the seven cuts feature his potent quintet with a young and emerging tenor saxophonist, Joe Henderson, as his front line mate, McCoy Tyner ever brilliant on…