American pianist Kenny Drew's second and final album under Blue Note Records. "Undercurrent" was originally released in 1961 and features a quintet comprised of Drew, Freddie Hubbard, Hank Mobley, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes. This was Drew's last recording before heading to Copenhagen to begin his international jazz career.

Not released until 1961, this album repackages the final recordings Sonny Rollins made for Prestige in 1956. Four of the songs previously appeared on Tour de Force, while the fifth was recorded at the session for "Rollins Plays for Bird". Rollins is backed by pianist Kenny Drew, bassist George Morrow and drummer Max Roach, with pianist Wade Legge and trumpeter Kenny Dorham performing on one track.

Released in 1957 on Prestige, "Tour De Force" includes the final recordings Sonny Rollins made for the label. The saxophonist is backed by pianist Kenny Drew, bassist George Morrow and drummer Max Roach, with Earl Coleman appearing on vocals on two tracks. The Penguin Guide to Jazz gives the album four stars out of four and describes is as being "almost as good as Colossus, with the ferocious abstractions of 'B Swift' and 'B Quick' contrasting with the methodical, almost surgical destruction of "Sonny Boy".

For many people Ben Webster is indelibly linked with the name of Duke Ellington. Ben had a long and distinguished career, of which his work with Duke was only a small part, but the crucial exposure just as he reached musical maturity was given by Ellington, and that maturity was hastened by the challenge of playing with Ellington. Yet he also gave a lot to the band and to the continuing Ellington tradition.

Jackie's Bag is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1959 and 1960 and released in June 1961 by Blue Note. The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "the music on Jackie's Bag finds McLean in a staunchly hard bop mode, with occasional hints of adventurousness".

Stuff Smith, born as Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith in 1909 passed away in 1967, one year after this unique recording session. "Violin Summit" featured Stuff Smith, Stephane Grappelli, Svend Asmussen and Jean Luc-Ponty (with pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, drummer Alex Riel) in concert on September 30, 1966. It was an unique opportunity to have four of the best violin players together in one concert. The music came off quite well, in large part probably because the four violinists were paired in different sets with all four actually featured together on only one take, "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing".

This album, not released until 1956, contains the first recordings Sonny Rollins made for Prestige as leader in 1951 and 1953. Rollins is backed on four songs by the Modern Jazz Quartet (John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke), eight other tracks feature Heath with Kenny Drew and Art Blakey, while Miles Davis plays piano on the closing number I Know. Several of these songs appeared in 1952 on 10 inch vinyl entitled Sonny Rollins Quartet.

Recorded in late 1960, Kenny Drew's seventh recording as a leader is significant for many reasons, not the least of which that it is one of the finest Blue Note hard bop statements in either of their catalogues. Teamed with rising young star trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and the wonderful tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley fresh off stints with Donald Byrd and Art Blakey, Drew joined the ranks of the premier mainstream jazz pianists just prior to moving permanently to Europe. He's a complementary piece of the puzzle as a player, but stirs the drink as the composer of all of these very fine hard bop vehicles.

By 1956 when this album was recorded, Art Farmer had come into his own as a trumpet soloist. His combination of earthiness, drive, respect for melody, harmonic sophistication and a wistful sound on ballads produced a distinctive and immediately recognizable style. The catchy Farmer's Market had resulted in a semi-hit for Annie Ross after she was inspired by Farmer's 1951 version; Farmer's remake on this album has one of his best solos of the 1950s. His bassist twin brother Addison is in the band, along with pianist Kenny Drew, drummer Elvin Jones and Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone. Farmer, Drew and Mobley contributed most of the tunes on this album.

Ben Webster was not exactly under-recorded during his forty-year playing career but he is among that exclusive hierarchy of jazz artists to whose consistent excellence there can never be an over-abundance of recorded testimony. This album has the merit of offering a nicely balanced and thoughtfully chosen selection of tracks. Four of the tunes are associated with Duke Ellington in whose saxophone section Ben was featured for more than ten years. Our Blues is a choice example of Ben’s evocative after-hours style of blues playing. An additional bonus is the superior quality of the musicians behind Webster on all these tracks, recorded in Copenhagen between 1968 and 1970.

Kenny Dorham recorded and released "Whistle Stop" in 1961. Produced by Alfred Lion, the album features performances by acclaimed musicians Hank Mobley, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. Blumenthal states in the CD liner notes, "five British critics picked Whistle Stop as one of 200 albums that belonged in a basic library of jazz recorded after World War II".

Tenor saxophonist John Coltrane was one of the most innovative, influential and respected figures in jazz history. In 1957, Coltrane created a masterpiece with the release of "Blue Train". The album has been widely regarded by both fans and critics as one of the greatest jazz records of all time.

Tenor saxophonist John Coltrane was one of the most innovative, influential and respected figures in jazz history. In 1957, Coltrane created a masterpiece with the release of "Blue Train". The album has been widely regarded by both fans and critics as one of the greatest jazz records of all time. It was his second album as a band leader and found him accompanied by greats including Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and “Philly” Joe Jones. The album is a scintillating display of Coltrane’s innate leadership abilities. The stunning horn arrangements add a unique distinction symbolic of Coltrane and his band. A showcase of his versatility, Coltrane soars through tunes including “I’m Old Fashioned” and “Lazy Bird”.

Recorded over the same four day period in 1961 as Dexter Gordon's Blue Note debut Doin' Allright, this session features a different lineup of musicians with Gordon the only horn player. The band, lavishly praised by critics, features pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Like all his early '60s Blue Note recordings, this is Gordon at his absolute best.

Unlike many other American expatriates living in Europe, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon always managed to play and record with the top musicians while overseas. This excellent sextet session (with trombonist Slide Hampton, trumpeter Dizzy Reece, pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Niels Pedersen and drummer Art Taylor) finds him exploring three Slide Hampton compositions and a trio of standard ballads. The other soloists are fine but Gordon easily dominates the set, playing his brand of hard-driving bop.