The "flipside" of
Ike Quebec's legendary run of albums for Blue Note – a huge set of material recorded only as 45 singles during his same stretch at the label! Although
Quebec's work as a soulful tenorist has been well documented and reissued over the years on albums like Blue & Sentimental and Heavy Soul,
Ike also cut a fair number of singles aimed at the jukebox and radio crowds of the time – tunes that were more in the gutsy tenor and organ mode recorded by labels like Prestige or Chess, and which never made it onto any of the full-length sets for Blue Note! This great little package brings together all of
Ike's 26 tracks recorded for 45s in the late 50s and early 60s – material that features organ on most numbers, played by either
Ike Quebec, Sir Charles Thompson, or the enigmatic Edwin Swanston.
Quebec's tone and phrasing is similar to his Blue Note LP work of the period, but there's also a more relaxed, and more punctuated feel to these recordings – one that's not as rough or raw as other jukebox tenor stars of the time, but which still steps out past the usual Blue Note poise, especially on the original numbers. Some tracks were briefly issued on the 80s collection With A Song In My Heart, and in a Mosaic box – but this is the first proper Blue Note album of the material. Titles include "Buzzard Lope", "Zonky", "Blue Monday", "Later For The Rock", "Dear John", "Blue Friday", "Ill Wind", "Mardis Gras", "Everything Happens To Me", "Me N Mabe", "All The Way", "Intermezzo", "All Of Me", and "Imagination".
(Out of print.)