Booker Ervin – Structurally Sound (Tone Poet Vinyl Series)

Best known for his association with Charles Mingus, the Texas-born tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin was a distinctive soloist with an assertive and immediately recognizable sound. One of Ervin’s pinnacle statements as a leader was the first of his two Pacific Jazz albums, Structurally Sound, which he cut in 1966 shortly after returning to the U.S. from a two-year period of living in Barcelona and working across Europe. Featuring Ervin fronting a top-shelf quintet with Charles Tolliver on trumpet, John Hicks on piano, Red Mitchell on bass, and Lenny McBrowne on drums, the sublime program included originals by Ervin (“Boo’s Blues”) and Tolliver (“Franess”), songbook standards (“Dancing In The Dark,” “You’re My Everything,” and “Deep Night”), and pieces by eminent jazz composers: Billy Strayhorn’s “Take The ‘A’ Train,” Oliver Nelson’s “Stolen Moments,” and Randy Weston’s “Berkshire Blues.”

Blue Note Tone Poet Series

The Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue 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, a.k.a. the “Tone Poet,” on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the jacket graphics and printing quality to superior LP mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180g audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket.

Tracklist:
A1 Berkshire Blues
A2 Dancing In The Dark
A3 Stolen Moments
A4 Franess
B1 Boo's Blues
B2 You're My Everything
B3 Deep Night
B4 Take The "A" Train