Bobby Hutcherson during Grachan Moncur’s Evolution session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, November 21 1963
McCoy Tyner - I Didn’t Know What Time It Was (1968)
Bobby Hutcherson, Herbie Lewis and McCoy Tyner cook well together in many settings. Herbie Lewis stands out on bass in this killer rendition of the Rodgers and Hart standard.
Enjoy your Sunday evening y’all.
Bobby Hutcherson and Lee Morgan at Joe Henderson’s Mode For Joe recording session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, January 27 1966 (photo by Francis Wolff)
Bobby Hutcherson - Mirrors (1963)
Friday afternoon vibes care of Bobby Hutcherson, recorded one month after and with the same personnel as Grant Green’s seminal Idle Moments.
This would have been Bobby Hutcherson’s first LP as a leader for Blue Note, but it wasn’t released until 1999 as part of the Blue Note Connoisseur Series. This Joe Chambers piece offers a premonitory glimpse at the type of sound that Hutcherson and Chambers would cultivate throughout the 60s together.
Herbie Hancock during Bobby Hutcherson’s Components session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, June 10, 1965 (photo by Francis Wolff)
Bobby Hutcherson, during Grant Green’s Idle Moments session, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 4 or November 15, 1963 (photo by Francis Wolff)
Bobby Hutcherson - The Kicker (1963)
This bright, soon-to-be-made-famous-by-Horace-Silver tune by Joe Henderson would have featured on Bobby Hutcherson’s first Blue Note LP, recorded just a month and a half after the exact same personnel came together for Grant Green’s groundbreaking Idle Moments. Bummer these tracks didn’t see the light of day for another 36 years.
Bobby Hutcherson - Components (1965)
More literal and figurative hard bop vibes from Bobby Hutcherson. Herbie Hancock and Joe Chambers are at it again, joined by a front line of James Spaulding and Freddie Hubbard. Ron Carter is on the bass, yes my man Ron Carter is on the bass.
Bobby Hutcherson - Rojo (1966)
This gorgeous album is mostly Hutcherson’s own compositions, bar a version of Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock, who appears on all the tracks with the in-demand bassist Bob Cranshaw, and Hutcherson’s favorite mid-60’s collaborator, drummer Joe Chambers. Top shelf.
Bobby Hutcherson - Effi (1968)
Another hard-to-find Bobby Hutcherson LP recorded in 1968 that languished on the Blue Note shelves until 1980. The playing here is hot and heavy, with some great flute work from James Spaulding, beautiful piano from Stanley Cowell—who wrote this cut—and sterling drum work from Joe Chambers, who contributed four compositions to the LP.
Bobby Hutcherson - Avis (1969)
Thoroughly sophisticated playing, a brilliant ensemble cast, strikingly original compositions, plenty of swing to burn. Even with all the above, this recording sat in the Blue Note vaults for 10 years before being released due to the popular rock & roll winds blowing at the time.
With the benefit of hindsight, we can see the error of this decision, as this is definitely one of Hutcherson’s finest moments from the late 60s.
