Curtis Amy, Dupree Bolton – Katanga! (BLUE NOTE TONE POET SERIES)

When this LP was made, Curtis Amy was barely known beyond the borders of Los Angeles; he later played with Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye, among others, and contributed a solo to the Doors' song Touch Me. The interest in Katanga! is rooted in Dupree Bolton - who was an occasional sideman with Art Pepper or Dexter Gordon, but served most of his career in And his fabulous trumpet playing is very poorly documented documented.

Who are these guys? That's the common reaction from anyone lucky enough to come across this remarkable (and remarkably rare) 1963 session. Katanga! is the last of six albums saxophonist Curtis Amy recorded for Pacific Jazz in the early 1960s, and surpasses not only the others, but many other jazz recordings from the era. The brilliant playing of trumpeter Dupree Bolton is simply breathtaking, and in one of his few appearances during a career plagued by personal problems. Bolton and Amy are joined by guitarist Ray Crawford, pianist Jack Wilson, bassist Victor Gaskin and drummer Doug Sides on this gem of an album.

The Blue Note Tone Poet 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 (of Music Matters), aka the "Tone Poet," on board to curate and oversee a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these reissues right in every conceivable way, from the cover art and print quality, to the superior LP mastering (straight from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray, to the superb audiophile 180gm LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Blue Note / Tone Poet releases is executed to the highest possible standard. That means you'll never find a better version. This is IT.