Blue & Sentimental

Blue & Sentimental
Studio album by Ike Quebec
Released	1962
Recorded	December 16 and 23, 1961
Studio	Van Gelder Studio Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre	Jazz
Length	39:31 (LP) 50:27 (CD)
Label	Blue Note BLP 4098
Producer	Alfred Lion
Ike Quebec chronology
It Might as Well Be Spring (1961) Blue & Sentimental (1962) Easy Living (1962)

Blue & Sentimental is an album by American jazz saxophonist Ike Quebec recorded for Blue Note on December 16 & 23, 1961 and released the following year. ^[1]

Background

The album features a quartet made up of Quebec (occasionally doubling on piano), guitarist Grant Green, and rhythm section Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. The album features rare rhythm guitar accompaniment by Green, who was more typically a soloist. ^{[2] [3]} The original LP release featured six tracks, and two additional titles ("That Old Black Magic" and "It's All Right With Me") were added to CD reissues starting in 1988. The track "Count Every Star" features a different group of backing musicians.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[5]
All About Jazz	[6]

The AllMusic review by Steve Huey calls Blue & Sentimental "a superbly sensuous blend of lusty blues swagger and achingly romantic ballads" and "a quiet, sorely underrated masterpiece". ^[4]

In 2004, critic Richard Cook wrote that the album "might be Quebec's masterpiece". ^[7]

Track listing

Side 1

1. "Blue and Sentimental" (Count Basie, Mack David, Jerry Livingston) – 7:28
2. "Minor Impulse" (Quebec) – 6:34
3. "Don't Take Your Love from Me" (Henry Nemo) – 7:04

Side 2

1. "Blues for Charlie" (Grant Green) – 6:48
2. "Like" (Quebec) – 5:21
3. "Count Every Star" (Bruno Coquatrix, Sammy Gallop) – 6:16

1988 CD track listing

1. "Blue and Sentimental" (Count Basie, Mack David, Jerry Livingston) – 7:28
2. "Minor Impulse" (Quebec) – 6:34
3. "Don't Take Your Love from Me" (Henry Nemo) – 7:04
4. "Blues for Charlie" (Grant Green) – 6:48
5. "Like" (Quebec) – 5:21
6. "That Old Black Magic" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 4:52 Bonus track on CD reissue
7. "It's All Right with Me" (Cole Porter) – 6:05 Bonus track on CD reissue
8. "Count Every Star" (Bruno Coquatrix, Sammy Gallop) – 6:16

Recorded on December 16 (tracks 1–7) and December 23 (track 8), 1961.

Personnel

Musicians

December 16, 1961

• Ike Quebec – tenor saxophone, piano
• Grant Green – guitar
• Paul Chambers – bass
• Philly Joe Jones – drums

December 23, 1961 ("Count Every Star")

• Ike Quebec – tenor saxophone
• Grant Green – guitar
• Sonny Clark – piano
• Sam Jones – bass
• Louis Hayes – drums

Technical personnel

• Alfred Lion – producer
• Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer
• Reid Miles – design
• Francis Wolff – photography
• Ira Gitler – liner notes

References

1. Blue Note Records discography accessed October 29, 2010
2. "To hear [Grant] comp [i.e., play rhythm guitar] behind a soloist you have to check his sideman dates, like Blue and Sentimental by Ike Quebec..." Sharony Andrews Green (1999) Grant Green: Rediscovering the Forgotten Genius of Jazz Guitar, Backbeat Books/Hal Leonard, p. 224
3. "In place of a keyboard, Grant, quietly comping or soloing in fluid single note style, creates acres of space in which Quebec's rapturous playing can shine." Chris May (2008). "Ike Quebec: Blue & Sentimental", Review for AllAboutJazz.com, April 12, 2008; accessed 01 Jan 2018
4. Huey, S. Allmusic Review accessed October 29, 2010
5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1186. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
6. May, Chris. "Ike Quebec: Blue & Sentimental". All About Jazz. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
7. Richard Cook (2004). Blue Note Records: The Biography. Justin, Charles & Company, p. 143