Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers - Ugetsu (1963) {OJC Remasters Complete Series rel 2011}

An extension of the popular Original Jazz Classics series (est. 1982), the new OJC Remasters releases reveal the sonic benefits of 24-bit remastering-a technology that didn't exist when these titles were originally issued on compact disc. The addition of newly-written liner notes further enhances the illuminating quality of the OJC Remasters reissues. "Each of the recordings in this series is an all-time jazz classic," says Nick Phillips, Vice President of Jazz and Catalog A&R at Concord Music Group and producer of the series.

"With these reissues, we get a fresh look and a new perspective on these artists and some of their most important work-not only from the meticulous 24-bit remastering by Joe Tarantino, but also from the insights we glean from the new liner notes that have been written for each title in the series."

Recorded live at Birdland in New York City in June 1963 for Riverside, Ugetsu features trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Cedar Walton and bassist Reggie Workman - a crew heralded as "one of the top three or four lineups Blakey ever led," according to Neil Tesser, who wrote the new liner notes for the reissue. The CD ends with four bonus tracks, including a previously unreleased cover of George Shearing's 1949 bop classic, "Conception."

"There's something special about Art Blakey and his band live, and this album is certainly no exception," says Phillips. "That's partly because this was the natural environment in which these guys were working night after night in the clubs. There are certain things that can happen in a live jazz recording that don't always happen in the more artificial environment of a recording studio."

Tesser notes that the recording marks the first appearance of iconic tunes that would remain in the Messengers' repertoire long after their composers left the band, including Shorter's "One By One" and "On The Ginza," Fuller's "Time Off," and Walton's title track. "Blakey almost never took an extended drum solo with the Messengers," says Tesser. "He didn't need to. He stamped every gig, every phrase, practically every note from his sidemen with the unerring judgment and bold panache of his colors and accents."

Personnel:
Art Blakey - drums
Curtis Fuller - trombone
Freddie Hubbard - trumpet
Wayne Shorter - tenor saxophone
Cedar Walton - piano
Reggie Workman - bass

tracklist:
01 - One By One
02 - Ugetsu
03 - Time Off
04 - Ping-Pong
05 - I Didn't Know What Time It Was
06 - On The Ginza
07 - Eva (bonus track)
08 - The High Priest (bonus track)
09 - Conception (bonus track)
10 - The Theme (bonus track)