Customer Reviews

Blue and Sentimental

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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.

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 !

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.

This album is simply beatifull. Iqe Quebec's (tenor) tone is irremarkable. Iqe and Grant Green (guitar) colaborate so smoothly on this album, and the rytham section of Philly Joe Jones (drums) and Paul Chambers (bass) is just right for this session. The album's title does kind of say it all and I must warn you fast paced music lovers, this album is slow, blue, and sentimental. So if speed is what you need you ain't gonna get it here. The first three tracks are simply the law, they make this album what it is. Don't get me wrong the whole album is terrific, but the first three tracks set the pace for the rest of the album. Track 8 was recorded a week after the rest of the album and there are different musicians present. Quebec and Green are the same, but Sonny Clark plays piano, Sam Jones plays bass, and Louis Hayes plays drums. A great album to listen to first thing in the morning, or last thing after a good night of roaming the streets. Play it loud!!!

All of Ike Quebec's bluenote albums are superior efforts, but "Blue and Sentimental" , along with "Easy Living" (which came after this one and before "Soul Samba") take the proverbial cake. Quebec mesmerizes with the languid-smokey-late-night-romance that he breathes deeply into his tenor saxophone. Without the accompaniment of the piano there is more space and time for Ike to move about in at his lazy leisure, and in place of it is the gentle strumming of Grant Green, who is at his most relaxed with Quebec at the helm. This fits the mood just right, and Ike Quebec is nothing if not a master at sustaining the blue tinted mood of a seemingly endless night. Images of laying in a bed with no sheets, late on a humid night, a gentle rain smearing the windows and the black streets below, a woman asleep with her head buried in your shoulder and her body pressed against you swaying with her breath, blue wisps of smoke from a cigarette lingering in the thick still air. This music is the sound of relaxed-romance, romance after passion but before sleep. A strange mingling of melancholy and quiet satisfaction. This is an album that is totally complete in and of itself, perfectly capturing a frozen moment. A still, perfect, and beautiful moment. This is Ike Quebec at the summit, and so this is jazz at the summit.

the title song says it all. this CD is great jazz and anyone can enjoy it from the conneseour to the casual jazz fan. ike quebec never got his due, but he knows how to blow.

If you are not sure what the blues are all about this is the album to begin with. The beauty of the musical expression of feelings will bring tears to your eyes.

This is a sweet CD. Listen to the tracks on-line and see if it's your thing.