New - Byrd, Donald - Byrd Blows On Beacon Hill (Tone Poet Series) - LP

Verve and Impulse! Records launch the new Vital Vinyl series with UMe, celebrating essential jazz LPs from the enduring catalogues of the two iconic labels. Throughout 2019, Verve and Impulse! will be making no fewer than 40 key albums from the 1950s, '60s and '70s available again on 180-gram vinyl. Each will feature their original cover artwork, track listings and liner notes. Some of these albums will become available for the first time in years, while others that are already in print will now be perennially available.

When Gerry Mulligan and Ben Webster met up at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles , CA in November 1959 it proved to be one of the ultimate saxophone summits. The 50 year old Webster's tenor sax and 32 year old Mulligan's baritone are as potent and polished as it gets. However, it's not just the sax playing that makes these six cuts so good, but also the accompaniment of Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Mel Lewis in the rhythm section, along with the excellent Jimmy Rowles on piano. As Webster said at the time, "Ben and I were a focused, near-functioning, little band. That's why it worked and of course it's all related to our mutual esteem and musical rapport." This is simply an astonishing record of two giants of jazz at the very top of their game. Less is more; cool is hot – Mulligan is the ideal foil for the elder Webster!

Musicians:
Gerry Mulligan, baritone saxophone
Ben Webster, tenor saxophone
Jimmy Rowles, piano
Leroy Vinnegar, bass
Mel Lewis, drums