All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP of Kenny Burrell Mastered from the Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray & Pressed at RTI: Reference-Caliber Blue Note Reissue Helmed by Music Matters Joe Harley

The first thing that strikes you aboutKenny Burrellssecond Blue Note album, simply titledKenny Burrelland released as part of Blue Notes fabled 1500 series, is the cover, which features an illustration by Andy Warhol, the first of three Blue Note covers the soon-to-be famed artist collaborated on with designer Reid Miles. The second is the striking music, which is drawn from four different sessions recorded in 1956 with the great guitarist featured in a variety of different configurations.

The opener, a brisk romp through Harold Arlens Get Happy, features Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, Kenny Clarke on drums, and Candido on congas. That leads into a stunning solo guitar rendition of the Gershwin tune But Not For Me, which is followed by the live track Mexico City, a piece by Kenny Dorham and recorded with the trumpeters sextet at the Caf Bohemia. Burrell and Flanagan are joined by bassist Oscar Pettiford and drummer Shadow Wilson on the Basie band number Moten Swing and Burrells Cheeta, and tenor saxophonist Frank Foster makes it a quintet for remainder of Side 2 on Pettifords Now See How You Are, Burrells Phinupi, and the Burton Lane standard How About You.

Blue Note Records acclaimedTone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Seriescontinues in 2022. Launched in 2019 in honor of the labels 80th Anniversary, theTone Poet seriesisproduced by Joe Harley (from Music Matters)and featuresall-analog, 180g audiophile vinyl reissuesthat aremastered from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio. Tone Poet vinyl is manufactured at RTI in Camarillo, CA, and packaged in deluxe Stoughton Printing Old Style gatefold Tip-On jackets. The titles were once again handpicked by Harley and cover the crme de la crme of the Blue Note catalog along with underrated classics, modern era standouts, and albums from other labels under the Blue Note umbrella including Pacific Jazz and United Artists Records. 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.

The LPs are mastered directly from the original analog master tapes by Kevin at his incredible facility called Cohearent Mastering. We go about it in the exact same way that we did for so many years for the Music Matters Blue Note reissues. We do not roll off the low end, boost the top or do any limiting of any kind. We allow the full glory of the original Blue Note masters to come though unimpeded! Short of having an actual time machine, this is as close as you can get to going back and being a fly on the wall for an original Blue Note recording session.
Joe Harley

Musicians:
Kenny Burrell, guitar
Bobby Timmons / Tommy Flanagan, piano
Kenny Dorham, trumpet
Frank Foster / J.R. Monterose, tenor saxophone
Oscar Pettiford / Paul Chambers / Sam Jones, bass
Arthur Edgehill / Kenny Clarke / Shadow Wilson, drums
Candido, congas

Features:
Blue Note Tone Poet Series
Curated by Music Matters co-founder Joe Harley
Audiophile-quality 180g vinyl LP
All-analog mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray
Manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated
Deluxe gatefold jacket packaging

1. Get Happy
2. But Not For Me
3. Mexico City
4. Moten Swing
5. Cheeta
6. Now See How You Are
7. Phinupi
8. How About You