Donald Byrd At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 2: Blue Note Tone Poet

All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP of Donald Byrd's At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 2: Blue Note Tone Poet Reissue Mastered From the Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray and Pressed at RTI

Trumpeter Donald Byrd was only 2 years into his 2 decade long Blue Note recording career when he brought his quintet into Manhattan’s Half Note Café in November 1960 to record this soulful, swinging, and highly enjoyable live set of hard bop featuring Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, Duke Pearson on piano, Laymon Jackson on bass, and Lex Humphries on drums. Byrd had already established himself as a leading trumpeter on the scene and was riding high on a creative hot streak that produced the studio albums Off to the Races, Byrd in Hand, Fuego, and Byrd in Flight. At the Half Note Café, Vol. 2 jumps right into Pearson’s brightly swinging “Jeannine” and includes two Byrd tunes—an extended take of the band’s bluesy theme song “Pure D. Funk” & the hard-grooving “Kimyas” - as well as a lilting take on the standard “When Sonny Gets Blue.”

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 gatefold tip-on jacket.

Musicians:

Donald Byrd - Trumpet
Pepper Adams - Baritone Saxophone
Duke Pearson - Piano
Laymon Jackson - Bass
Lex Humphries - Drums

Features:

• Blue Note Tone Poet Series
• Curated by Music Matters co-founder Joe Harley
• Audiophile-quality 180g Stereo Vinyl LP
• All-analog mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray
• Manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated
• Packaged in a Deluxe tip-on jacket