In celebration of the 80th anniversary of Blue Note Records in 2019, the Classic Series presents affordable, high-quality reissues in standard packaging that are mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal Media in Germany. The pressings are all-analog whenever an analog source is available, with Gray cutting directly from the Original Master Tapes.

• Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series
• LP 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• All Analog Mastering
• Cut from the Original Master Tapes
• Cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
• Pressed at Optimal Media in Germany
• Mono

The Classic Vinyl Reissue Series is the continuation of our acclaimed Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series, which was created in celebration of the 80th anniversary of Blue Note Records in 2019. The series presents affordable, high-quality reissues in standard packaging that are mastered by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio and manufactured on 180g vinyl at Optimal Media in Germany. The pressings are all-analog whenever an analog source is available, with Gray mastering directly from the original master tapes. Blue Note Records has recorded the legends of Jazz and has traced the entire evolution of the music from the early days of Boogie Woogie, Hot Jazz and Swing, through the innovations of Bebop, Hard Bop, Post-Bop, Soul Jazz, Avant-Garde, and 70s Fusion, and into the vibrant sounds of Jazz’s many modern-day incarnations. The Classic Vinyl Series is curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman and is broad in its scope. The series reissues the best-known Blue Note classics from the 1950s and 60s, but also goes deeper, exploring the many different eras and styles of the legendary label’s eight-decade history with the aim of telling our story and fully representing the Blue Note motto: The Finest In Jazz Since 1939.

One of the finest pianists and composers of the hard bop era, Sonny Clark seemed to arrive fully formed on his supremely swinging debut album Dial “S” for Sonny recorded for Blue Note in 1957. Clark assembled a top-flight sextet for the occasion with Art Farmer on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Wilbur Ware on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. Clark penned four of the album’s six tunes including the moody, minor title piece, the bright, fleet-footed “Bootin’ It,” the feel-good theme “Sonny’s Mood,” and the sprightly swinger “Shoutin’ on a Riff.” Rounding out the set are two standards: a stunning ballad performance of “It Could Happen To You” with Farmer delivering the opening theme and Fuller closing the piece, both with their warm, full-bodied tones, and the Gershwin tune “Love Walked In” which is a showpiece for Clark who opens with a solo intro before being joined by bass and drums for a trio performance that let’s his inventive style shine.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is mono, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Musicians:

Art Farmer, trumpet
Curtis Fuller, trombone
Hank Mobley, tenor sax
Sonny Clark, piano
Wilbur Ware, bass
Louis Hayes, drums

Track Listing:

A1: Dial "S" For Sonny
A2: Bootin' It
B1: It Could Happen To You
B2: Sonny's Mood
B3: Shoutin' On A Riff
B4: Love Walked In

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫