Chico Hamilton – Chico Hamilton Quintet LP (Tone Poet Vinyl Series)

Chico Hamilton – Chico Hamilton Quintet (Tone Poet Vinyl Series)

A jewel of West Coast chamber jazz, this 1955 Pacific Jazz date documented drummer Chico Hamilton’s extraordinary quintet featuring Buddy Collette on woodwinds, Jim Hall on guitar, Fred Katz on cello, and Carson Smith on bass. The ensemble created a singular sound with its unique instrumentation and poised, impassioned performances of nuanced, inventive arrangements of standards and bandmember originals. Side 1 consists of a set of introspective studio recordings including evocative pieces by Collette (“Blue Sands”) and Katz (“The Sage”) as well as a shadowy arrangement of “My Funny Valentine.” Side 2 presents more of the quintet’s fiery side with a set of live recordings captured at Strollers in Long Beach, California. The band swings mightily from the side opener “I Want To Be Happy” to the closer “Buddy Boo” with a detour into abstraction on the fully improvised piece “Free Form.”

Blue Note Tone Poet Series

The Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was’ admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley, a.k.a. the “Tone Poet,” on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the jacket graphics and printing quality to superior LP mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180g audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

This mono Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe tip-on jacket.

Tracklist:
A1: A Nice Day 
A2: My Funny Valentine 
A3: Blue Sands 
A4: The Sage 
A5: The Morning After 

B1: I Want To Be Happy 
B2: Spectacular 
B3: Free Form 
B4: Walking Carson Blues 
B5: Buddy Boo 

Label: Blue Note Records
Released: 1955/2025