Seven Classic Albums

The Real Gone Jazz label must have issued at least a couple of hundred multi-CD jazz compilations, of which I've haphazardly accumulated seven or eight, the latest of which is this collection of Seven Classic Albums by the trumpeter and composer Richard Allen 'Blue' Mitchell. The seven records in question are Big 6, Out of the Blue, Blue Soul, Blue's Moods, Smooth as the Wind, A Sure Thing and The Cup Bearers, all dating from between 1958 and 1962.

As with all of these compilations, I like some parts better then others. Smooth as the Wind is an attempt at marrying a ten-piece jazz band with a string section, which, despite the efforts of expert arrangers Tadd Dameron and Benny Golson, doesn't hit the spot for me. A Sure Thing boasts arrangements by saxophonist Jimmy Heath played by a nine-piece band, which I like a little better, but not as much as the albums featuring smaller ensembles.

Indeed, my favourite of the seven, Blue's Moods, is the only one where Mitchell is the sole horn player: the opening track on it 'I'll Close My Eyes' being a particularly fine showcase for his playing. Blue Soul, where Mitchell's trumpet is complemented by Jimmy Heath's tenor sax and by Curtis Fuller on trombone, comes a close second.

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Complete String Quartets

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Ein Schattenspiel, etc.

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This is a Recording

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