Howard McGhee - Maggie's Back In Town!

 

Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series continues in 2024!

Twelve standout albums from the Contemporary Records catalog reissued on 180-gram vinyl

Titles featuring Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Helen Humes, Ben Webster and many more!

Mastered AAA by Bernie Grundman from the original analog tapes

180-gram LPs pressed at Quality Record Pressings!

Stoughton Printing gatefold old-style tip-on jackets

Series supervised by Chad Kassem CEO of Acoustic Sounds

Continuing Craft Recordings' celebration of seminal jazz artists from Contemporary Records

"With a title that six decades later could trigger Labour supporters, this stunning 1961 release has trumpeter McGhee backed by Shelly Manne on drums, Phineas Newborn Jr. on piano and Leroy Vinnegar on bass. All share the spotlight as well as the cover, this bebop gem a late entry for a genre which had started to fade by the mid- to late-1950s. With Vinnegar's sublime walking bass lines and Manne's superlative drumming supporting trumpet and piano, the resultant session yielded superb renderings even of chestnuts like 'Summertime' and 'Williow Weep For Me.' As expected, the sound is superb. 'Maggie,' of course, was McGhee's nickname." — Sound Quality: 90% — Ken Kessler, Hi Fi News, April 2025

Just in time for summer comes this reissue featuring the criminally unsung Howard McGhee, the dexterous bebop trumpeter who's frequently compared to greats such as Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. Maggie's Back in Town!! (Maggie was McGhee's nickname), captures the musician's triumphant return to music in 1961. AllMusic rates the album as, "McGhee's finest recording of the period." He overachieves in rhythmic fluidity, a through line that's   particularly potent in seemingly carefree songs such as "Sunset Eyes" and the title track.

This new edition, released as part of the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series, features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Bernie Grundman and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at QRP, and presented in a Stoughton Printing tip-on jacket.

 

Demon Chase

Willow Weep For Me

Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise

Sunset Eyes

Maggie's Back In Town

Summertime

Brownie Speaks

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