Blue & Sentimental

Ike Quebec | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000005HCB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,608 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Ike Quebec's 1961-1962 comeback albums for Blue Note were all pretty rewarding, but Blue and Sentimental is his signature statement of the bunch, a superbly sensuous blend of lusty blues swagger and achingly romantic ballads. True, there's no shortage of that on Quebec's other Blue Note albums, but Blue and Sentimental is the best one by far. Quebec was a master of mood and atmosphere, and the well-paced program here sustains his smoky, late-night magic with the greatest consistency of tone. Part of the reason is that Quebec's caressing tenor sound is given a sparer backing than usual, with no pianist among the quartet of guitarist Grant Green, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. It's no surprise that Green solos with tremendous taste and elegance (the two also teamed up on Green's similarly excellent Born to Be Blue), and there are plenty of open spaces in the ensemble for Quebec to shine through. His rendition of the Count Basie-associated title cut is a classic, and the other standard on the original LP, "Don't Take Your Love From Me," is in a similarly melancholy vein. Through it all, Quebec remains the quintessential seducer, striking just the right balance between sophistication and earthiness, confidence and vulnerability, joy and longing. It's enough to make Blue and Sentimental a quiet, sorely underrated masterpiece.

Personnel includes:
Ike Quebec - Piano, Sax (Tenor)
Grant Green - Guitar
Paul Chambers - Bass
"Philly" Joe Jones - Drums

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Handfull of Heartbreak, January 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue & Sentimental (Audio CD)

As sweet and lovely a balladeer as Willis Jackson, Ben Webster, or Coleman Hawkins, among others, Ike Quebec is not well known and that is a grave injustice to his memory. But to hear Ike Quebec play a ballad is to experience something almost beyond description. If you could hear honey running down a hot ceramic plate in July, that would be the sound of Ike Quebec. For years I searched for more albums by Quebec only to learn that his meager output was due to the fact that he died in 1963. Any of Quebec's ballad-play will break your heart or, if you are one of the hardhearted, at least bring tears to your eyes. Buy this album and his "It Might As Well Be Spring" for starters and then experience the frustration of finding that he made only a handfull of albums as a lead artist before he died. If the music doesn't break your heart, the knowledge that there was so little of it will. Just turn down the lights, close your eyes, and listen.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Convert !, December 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue & Sentimental (Audio CD)

This is the type of album that converts people to jazz ! I know it never harmed me ! Ike Quebec is certainly not the best known jazz tenor player, but his sound is so uniquely enchanting, one wonders why he isn't a lot better known than he is. Does the term "boudoir-sound" mean anything to you ? If it does, you'll know what kind of sounds you can expect on this brilliant CD. Quebec blows the blues so smoothly, your ears turn to velvet ! The man who introduced the likes of T.S. Monk and Bud Powell to the people at Blue Note Records unfortunately didn't record as much as he perhaps should have, but every one of his recordings is a treat. If you've never heard Quebec before, start with this CD. If this one doesn't convert you, thou shallt wallow in ignorance for all eternity ! Convert !

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Cult Classic, January 22, 2001

By 

"ampar" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue & Sentimental (Audio CD)

This is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Ike's tone, breathy yet virile, is set against the unusually spare backing of guitar, bass and drums, and to stunning effect. The recording quality is spectacular (as it was on vinyl), and if you close your eyes the musicians are in the room with you. Grant Green's guitar work is relaxed, perfectly judged, and never competes for space.

I much prefer this line-up to the organ-based arrangements of some of his other recordings. Apparently his story is one tragically familiar in jazz, dying young and leaving too little. In one sense this album defines saxophone jazz, in another it transcends genre. It's purely *music*, lyrical, sad, and occasionally full of lively spirit. It's been a personal favourite of mine for many years, and I frequently find myself humming his solos, and hearing that unique tone in my head. In fact, I'm going to stop writing this and listen to it again. This is music that will last you your lifetime.

Thanks, Ike, wherever you are.