Tone Poet Society

The Kingston, Jamaica born trumpeter Dizzy Reece moved to London at age 17 and began performing across Europe, most frequently in Paris, where he played with the likes of Don Byas and Kenny Clarke. Reece also made fans of Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins who spread the word about a hot new trumpeter on the European scene. So when trumpeter Donald Byrd and drummer Art Taylor came through Paris on tour in 1958 they sought out Reece and even found their way into the recording studio together in London for a UK-US jazz summit that would become Reece’s Blue Note debut: Blues In Trinity. The date was produced by Tony Hall who had cut several sessions with Reece for Decca Records’ imprint Tempo that had caught the ear of Alfred Lion, and an arrangement was made for Blue Note to release the new album. Reece delivers bravado performances throughout—including the stunning ballad feature “I Had The Craziest Dream”—with Byrd joining for some friendly sparring on “Close-Up” and “Color Blind.” Taylor anchors the rhythm section throughout with British pianist Terry Shannon and Canadian bassist Lloyd Thompson, but the album’s ace-up-the-sleeve is arguably British tenor saxophonist Tubby Hayes who is a robust presence on standout tracks including the opener “Blues In Trinity” and the Monk classic “‘Round About Midnight.”

The bluesy and soulful pianist Horace Parlan is perhaps best known for his work with Charles Mingus on the bassist’s seminal 1959 albums Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots. That same year Parlan made his first Blue Note appearance on Lou Donaldson’s album The Time Is Right and in early-1960 he began leading his own sessions for the label with a run of six quintessential hard bop dates recorded over a prolific 16-month period. Following the trio albums Movin’ & Groovin’ and Us Three, Parlan expanded to a quintet for his classic Speakin’ My Piece, and in 1961 capped off his hot streak with the quintet album Up & Down. The 6-song set was anchored by Parlan’s trusty trio with bassist George Tucker and drummer Al Harewood and featured the two new band members in guitarist and Blue Note stalwart Grant Green and brawny tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin. Opening with Ervin’s catchy, hard-swinging number “The Book’s Beat” the set’s other highlights include Parlan’s up-tempo title tune, Tucker’s soulful blues-waltz “Fugee,” Green’s swaggering blues “The Other Part of Town,” and the plaintive ballad “Lonely One” which was written by Babs Gonzales for Billie Holiday.

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