Horace Silver Quintet
The Tokyo Blues (Analogue 180gm BN Tone Poet)

Blue Note mainstay Horace Silver recorded his ‘Tokyo Blues’ album for the label in 1962. Over 60 years later, this music still sounds incredibly fresh which is a testament to Silver, the other musicians and the incredible label which he recorded for over many decades. ‘Sayonara Blues’ is 12 minutes of pure delight, an uptempo jazz gem with Silver’s piano interweaving with Blue Mitchell’ s trumpet, and Junior Cook’s tenor sax, over a compelling beat that you just can’t sit still to. ‘Tokyo Blues’ is also a very strong hard bop shifter that is noteworthy. ‘Ah ! So’  is another uptempo gem with greater intensity. ‘Too Much Sake’ is less frantic but very tuneful and builds to a crescendo. Tokyo Blues is a gem in the Blue Note catalogue and it’s great to have available again in the famed Tone Poet series remastered from the analogue tapes.