Al Grey & Billy Mitchell - Al Grey & Billy Mitchell Sextet and Septet - Live Sessions at Museum of Modern Art & at Birdland (2023) [Hi-Res]

Close friends for many years, trombonist Al Grey and tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell, colleagues and roommates in the Basie band, formed the Al Grey-Billy Mitchell Sextet in New York in January 1961, and it lasted until March 1963. Their mood and sounds were a musical anthology of highly successful contemporary groups. The arrangements generally included light, but propulsive swing band techniques applied to the freedom and spontaneity of a small group. In addition to the co-leaders, the early sextet featured pianist-composer Gene Kee, later replaced by the young and outstanding vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, who joined the group in the fall of 1961, during a West Coast tour.

Throughout its different stages, the sextet featured notable trumpeters such as Donald Byrd and Dave Burns, and on one occasion, Herbie Hancock was added on piano. The group had an immediacy and warmth that connected with the audience, due to the quality of the band, in which Grey proved himself to be a more forward-thinking player than he seemed with Basie, and Mitchell, a pure-blooded mainstream tenor. The group enjoyed considerable success and won the 1962 Down Beat International Jazz Critics Poll award as the new combo of the year. This CD collection contains live recordings of three different sextets, including previously unreleased material, captured from two radio broadcasts at Birdland.

—Jordi Pujol