CLIFF CRAFT (BLUE NOTE CLASSIC VINYL SERIES)

Vinyl LP pressing. Tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan blew in from Chicago in 1957 and put the NYC jazz scene on notice with a trio of excellent Blue Note sessions including Blowing in from Chicago co-led with John Gilmore, the self-title Cliff Jordan, and Cliff Craft. This third album featured Jordan at the helm of first-rate hard bop quintet with Art Farmer on trumpet, Sonny Clark on piano, George Tucker on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. Side 1 presented three Jordan originals including the sublime Laconia, Soul-Lo Blues, and the hard-swinging title track. Side 2 found Jordan playing well-known tunes by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Duke Ellington including Confirmation, Anthropology, and a show-stopping version of the ballad Sophisticated Lady.