New - Coles, Johnny - Little Johnny C - LP

Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP Mastered by Kevin Gray Directly from the Original Master Tapes and Manufactured at Optimal in Germany

The Classic Vinyl Reissue Series is the continuation of Blue Note's acclaimed Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series, which was created in celebration of the 80th anniversary of Blue Note Records in 2019. The series presents affordable, high-quality reissues in standard packaging that are mastered by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio and manufactured on 180g vinyl at Optimal Media in Germany. The pressings are all-analog whenever an analog source is available, with Gray mastering directly from the original master tapes.

Blue Note Records has recorded the legends of Jazz and has traced the entire evolution of the music from the early days of Boogie Woogie, Hot Jazz and Swing, through the innovations of Bebop, Hard Bop, Post-Bop, Soul Jazz, Avant-Garde, and 70s Fusion, and into the vibrant sounds of Jazz's many modern-day incarnations. The Classic Vinyl Series is curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman and is broad in its scope. The series reissues the best-known Blue Note classics from the 1950s and 60s, but also goes deeper, exploring the many different eras and styles of the legendary label's eight-decade history with the aim of telling their story and fully representing the Blue Note motto: The Finest In Jazz Since 1939.

Trumpeter Johnny Coles was performing with the Gil Evans Orchestra at Birdland in 1959 when he unknowingly made a fan who would open an important door for him a few years later. That fan was pianist Duke Pearson, who was enthralled by the trumpeter's solo spotlight that night, and after hearing him again the next year as a featured soloist in James Moody's band, Pearson and Coles formed their own musical relationship and began performing together frequently. Alfred Lion came to hear Pearson at one such gig a couple of years later and loved what he heard, in particular a tune of Pearson's called "Little Johnny C."

Lion gave Pearson the greenlight to assemble a Blue Note recording date with Coles as the leader, and so Pearson selected a program including five of his own original compositions that showcased Coles' unique abilities such as the hard-charging "Heavy Legs," the lilting waltz "My Secret Passion," and the tender ballad "So Sweet My Little Girl." The dynamic sextet Pearson put together for the date included himself on piano, Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Leo Wright on alto saxophone and flute, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and splitting drum duties were Walter Perkins (Side 1) and Pete La Roca (Side 2). Little Johnny C, recorded in 1963, would be the only album Coles would cut for Blue Note, but it remains a little-known treasure of the catalog.

Musicians:
Johnny Coles, trumpet
Duke Pearson, piano
Joe Henderson, tenor saxophone
Leo Wright, alto saxophone & flute
Bob Cranshaw, bass
Walter Perkins / Pete La Roca, drums

Features:
• Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series
• All analog 180g vinyl LP
• Mastered by Kevin Gray directly from the original master tapes
• Manufactured at Optimal in Germany
• Standard packaging