On View At The Five Spot Cafe: The Complete Masters CD

By the time Kenny Burrell took the stage at the Five Spot Cafe in August 1959, he had already 90-degree head-turned his best jazz fellow travellers with a glissando of Blue Note LPs. But this gig, his first live date as a leader, brought a new kind of magic. Contracting Art Blakey, Tina Brooks, Roland Hanna, Bobby Timmons, and Ben Tucker on band duties, Burrell confidently executed a suite of hard bop soaked in sweat, swing, and soul. This 3xLP brings that steamy summer evening back to life in full analogue detail; housed in a tip-on trifold jacket with an accompanying booklet of rare Francis Wolff photos, an essay by Syd Schwartz, and new reflections from Burrell himself, it's a vivid snapshot of a moment when everything clicked.