Chet Baker does what he does best; SINGS AND PLAYS. He was gracious enough to occasionally put down the trumpet to croon, his vocal ability as skillful as his trumpeting. Baker's effortless virtuosity transcended the bounds of jazz stardom, with both aficionados and mainstream audiences embracing him as the genre's coolest cat.

Born April 7th 1938, American jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop. This remarkable collection features the finest music Freddie Hubbard ever recorded, all originally made for and released by the esteemed Blue Note label during jazz music's most fertile era. Containing eight full, original albums in all, presented here in perfect remastered quality on 4CDs, this release will delight both existing fans looking for a reasonably priced collection containing the great man's best music, alongside those new to his playing, wondering what all the fuss is about.

Recorded live in 1980 at San Francisco's legendary Keystone Korner Jazz Club, this release includes the only known recording of Hubbard performing Coltrane's "Giant Steps." Produced by George Klabin, Todd Barkan, and David Weiss, Freddie Hubbard has performed/recorded with some of the most important players in jazz history including John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Wes Montgomery; Quincy Jones, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and many more. A must-have for Hubbard fans, jazz historians, and audiophiles.

The success of the earlier release by this trio (SCCD 31122 “The Touch Of Your Lips”) brought the group together again this time for “live” recording at club Montmartre packed with Baker fans. Radio Free Jazz wrote, “ His present playing is extraordinary, the best of his career, and he has never found a more empathetic context than this trio with guitarist Raney and bassist Pedersen... The interplay among these three superb musicians yields a quality of collective improvisation comparable to that of Bill Evans’ greatest trio....”

“...outstanding among [Chet’s] later recordings....This is a record to give a listener fresh heart...one feels there cannot be much wrong with jazz while it is producing records like this.” (Max Harrison, International Jazz Journal) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in deluxe tip-on jacket. The prodigious trumpeter Freddie Hubbard debuted on Blue Note in 1960 and produced an astounding run of recordings over the first half of the decade that culminated with Blue Spirits, which was the last of his 1960s studio albums for the label. This bluesy and spirited album presented five evocative Hubbard originals, each of which was given a richly textured arrangement for an ensemble that included a dynamic four-horn lineup. Drawn from two different sessions, the first date produced the gratifying opening track "Soul Surge" and the percolating "Cunga Black" with Hubbard joined by James Spaulding on alto saxophone and flute, Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Kiane Zawadi on euphonium, Harold Mabern on piano, Larry Ridley on bass, Clifford Jarvis on drums, and Big Black on congas. A week later Hubbard returned to Van Gelder Studio with Spaulding, Zawadi, and a slightly different lineup including Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums. This second session rounded out the album with hard-charging performances of "Outer Forces" and "Jodo," as well as the mesmerizing title track. This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, and mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes.

Freddie Hubbard - BREAKING POINT Recorded in May 1964, shortly after Hubbard left Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the quintet - with James Spaulding, Ronnie Mathews, Eddie Khan, and Joe Chambers - moves assuredly from free-form playing and modal jazz to the blues and balladry on this 6-song set of originals by Hubbard and Chambers. Blue Note Tone Poet Series features all-analog, remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging. BLUE NOTE RECORDS

When this recording came out as LP on the market in 1979 after Baker’s lengthy pause from the scene, Jazz Time’s reviewer started his article by saying “Whoof! The killer is back....” And indeed this cool killer was back on the scene to stay, though for a while until his tragic death in Holland, and made a number of wonderful recordings for SteepleChase. The first of the four releases with the same “drumless” group is a studio recording (three others are live from Montmartre) and “this subtle woodhued record shows that Baker at his best can still knock you dead...” (Jazz Time). 180g Audiophile Vinyl

This is the second release from the night at Montmartre Jazzhus (earlier release is “Daybreak” SCCD 31142) by the best Chet Baker Trio of this period. “...he sounds masterful, and is ably accompanied by Raney’s soft-bop guitar and NHØP’s towering bass...” (The Penguin Guide to Jazz - new edition)