Ike Quebec – The Complete Blue Note 45 Sessions (3xLP, Tone Poet)

The Complete Blue Note 45 Sessions of Ike Quebec collects a phenomenal body of work produced between 1959-'62 by a key player in the Blue Note Story. The saxophonist had recorded a series of 78s for Alfred Lion in the 1940s and also served as a talent scout who encouraged Lion to record important figures of the emerging bebop scene including Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. After a difficult period through the 1950s during which Quebec fell off the scene, Lion reconnected with his friend and began to reintroduce Quebec's music to jazz fans in 1959 with a series of 45 jukebox singles that were well received and revealed a formidable stylist very much at the top of his game. His full-throated yet utterly relaxed sound was ideally suited to a wide range of material from ballads to blues. The success of Quebec's comeback inspired Lion to keep going, capturing four sessions of material with a revolving cast of musicians that yielded classic tracks including "A Light Reprieve," "Blue Monday," and "What a Difference a Day Makes." Quebec would also go on to record several album sessions including the timeless soul jazz classics Heavy Soul, Blue & Sentimental, and Bossa Nova Soul Samba, capping a prolific end to a career that would be tragically cut short with his death from lung cancer at age 44 in 1963.

This Blue Note Tone Poet Edition is produced by Joe Harley. The 3-LP vinyl set is all-analog and cut directly from Rudy Van Gelder's original master tapes by Kevin Gray. Pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, the LPs come packaged in a deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket which includes a booklet with never-before-seen photos by Francis Wolff and an insightful, in-depth essay by scholar Loren Schoenberg.

Reviews

“These 26 good-time — but, as you’d expect from a class act like Ike Quebec, intelligent and creative — tracks collected here … are gorgeously lyrical soul-jazz nuggets.” — Chris May, All About Jazz

"Fun, loose and highly enjoyable music." – Allmusic

Features

• 180g Vinyl,3LP
• Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series
• All-Analog
• Cut Directly from Rudy Van Gelder's Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray
• Produced by Joe Harley
• Pressed at RTI
• Ike Quebec's Complete 1959-1962 Jukebox Recordings
• LP 1 Recorded July 1, 1959, Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey
• LP 2 Recorded September 25, 1960, Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
• LP 3 Recorded February 5 & 13, 1962, Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey
• Deluxe Wide Spine Tip-On Gatefold Jacket
• Booklet with Never-Before-Seen Photos by Francis Wolff & Essay by Loren Schoenberg