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

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.

Organist Ronnie Foster has collaborated with many greats over the course of his career from George Benson to the Jacksons to Stevie Wonder who brought the organist in to record on his seminal album Songs In The Key Of Life. But Foster first caught the ear of Blue Note Records co-founder Francis Wolff with his standout performance on Grant Green’s searingly funky live album Alive! recorded in 1970. Foster would go on to make his own Blue Note debut two years later with the 1972 jazz-funk classic Two Headed Freap produced by George Butler. The vibrant 8-song set included funky covers of Al Green, Wilson Pickett, and Joe Simon along with 5 compelling originals including the propulsive opening track “Chunky,” the breezy jam “Summer Song,” and “Mystic Brew,” a visionary track which A Tribe Called Quest would later sample on their hip hop classic “Electric Relaxation.”

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

Musicians:

Ronnie Foster - organ
Gene Bianco - harp
Arthur Jenkins - congas
George Duvivier - bass
Gordon Edwards - Fender bass
Jimmy Johnson - drums
George Devens - vibes
Gene Bertoncini - guitar

Track Listing:

A1: Chunky
A2: Drowning In The Sea Of Love
A3: The Two Headed Freap
A4: Summer Song

B1: Let's Stay Together
B2: Don't Knock My Love
B3: Mystic Brew
B4: Kentucky Fried Chicken

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫