Jackie McLean - Vertigo

180-gram LP

Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original master tape

Plated and pressed at RTI

The Blue Note Tone Poet Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was' admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley (from Music Matters), a.k.a. the "Tone Poet," on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Two months before Jackie McLean recorded his inside-out masterpiece One Step Beyond in 1963, the alto saxophonist was in the studio recording a dynamic quintet session that would eventually be released as Vertigo as part of the LT Series in 1980. Primarily featuring a state-of-the-art band with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Tony Williams, the set presents a dizzying array of styles from bristling post-bop ("Vertigo") to sophisticated funk ("Dusty Foot") to slow blues ("Yams"). The hard bop centerpiece "Formidable" was drawn from an earlier 1959 session featuring Byrd, pianist Walter Davis Jr., bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Pete LaRoca.

Side A

1. Marney

2. Dusty Foot

3. Formidable [Remastered]

Side B

1. Vertigo

2. Cheers

3. Yams

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