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ILLINOIS JACQUET - BIRTHDAY PARTY

ILLINOIS JACQUET/BIRTHDAY PARTY

Liscensed directly by Analogue Archive from Mr. Jacquet, this is the first reissue on the Groove Note label. This is the 1st reissue of this title on any format since the album went out of print in 1978. The album was recorded in Japan in 1975. Illinois Jacquet was part of an all star jazz band touring Japan on behalf of Toshiba. Other members of this all star jazz group were Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Roy Haynes and Kenny Burrell.

The band played an outdoor concert in a baseball stadium during which Jacquet agreed and, one warm night after they had finished one of their scheduled concerts, he gathered some of his fellow jazz musicians and bundled them all into a couple of cabs and headed toward the recording studio. That particular day just happened to be Illinois jacquet’s Birthday so hence the title of the album and the spectacular cut Birthday Party Blues.

The musicians who showed up to help Illinois celebrate and who all appeared on this album are: Kenny Burrell (guitar), Art Farmer (flugel), Roy Haynes (drums), James Moody (flute & tenor), Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax), Joe Newman (trumpet), Jack Six (bass), and Jimmie Smith (piano). No exaggeration to describe this as one of the most impressive line-ups to appear on a single jazz album.

The songs on this album include magnificent performances of The Shadow of Your Smile and Polka Dots and Moon Beams but the one track that is guaranteed to blow most listeners away is the above mentioned Birthday Party Blues. An extended eleven minute blues improvisation, this performance also features solos by Mulligan and Art Farmer as well as a lengthy and unforgettable climactic instrumental break by Mr. Jacquet himself. (After listening to this cut, even hardcore classical music listeners have begged me for a copy of this album!

This is also a beautifully recorded jazz album with an excellent sense of acoustic space and the spatial relationships between the many instruments as well as an almost perfect tonal balance. (The original 15ips 1/4 in. session tapes were used by GrooveNote to master this album.) Mastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, the LP is cut on his custom-modified tube-cutting system and the CD was the 24bit mastered using the latest state of the art digital components.

The LP includes a 45 rpm supercut of Birthday Party Blues and The Shadow of Your Smile as a special LP-only audiophile bonus limited to the first 1000 LP’s that are pressed!

1. Ebb Tide
2. Birthday Party Blues
3.The Shadow Of Your Smile
4. On The Beach
5. Polka Dots & Moon Beams