Product DescriptionDOUBLE CD
5LPs on 2 CDs
24 BIT
DIGITALLY REMASTERED
In 1952, Gil Mellé (1931-2004) was the first white musician signed to Blue Note Records. He had started young, studying oboe and planning to play jazz with it, but to practice his embouchure he decided to start on alto sax and then moved to tenor to extend his range. Baritone then presented a welcome challenge. Gerry and Harry Carney were doing great things on the instrument, but I felt there was a whole area for exploration and development on baritone.
He wrote all the material for these four Blue Note albums. They are compositions in the fullest sense since he creates his own chord patterns rather than building an original melodic line on top of the changes to some standard tune. I wouldn t call them compositions otherwise.
As with most musicians, he wanted to get a new, identifiable sound. Too many musicians are identified with a particular sound which leads to an obvious trouble, if they stick to it. They end up painting everything the same color. I want, instead, to fit my sound to the composition. His unorthodoxy allowed him to achieve a new tone, introducing his own personality through the choice of particular instruments, compositions and arrangements.
As an extra, this set also contains a previously unreleased broadcast of Melle s quartet from Café Bohemia in New York recorded October 5, 1957.