Blue Lights Volume 2

This is the second half of one long day. On May 14, 1958, Kenny Burrell brought a septet to Manhattan Towers in New York, not Van Gelder's in Hackensack, and Alfred Lion taped nine tunes. Four went to Blue Lights Volume 1 that year. Four more are here. The Jazz Discography Project dates this volume to 1961, while Wikipedia gives 1958; the reviews reprinted with the notes, from Cashbox in November 1961 and Down Beat in April 1962, fit the later year.

Robert Levin wrote one set of notes for the two volumes. He calls Burrell the nominal leader of a blowing session, and spends most of his space on the players. Louis Smith was on trumpet, Levin says, then with Horace Silver; Levin heard a lot of Clifford Brown in him, and a voice of his own on the way. Tina Brooks and Junior Cook were the tenors, Sam Jones played bass and Art Blakey drums. The piano chair changed hands during the day: Duke Jordan for the first five tunes, Bobby Timmons for the last four. This record has two of each.

Side one opens with "Rock Salt," a Burrell blues of more than 11 minutes, with Timmons and both tenors. Levin found Timmons potent on it, and he singled out Smith here and on the next tune.

His statements on Rock Salt and Man I Love (which seem to me to be among his best on record)

Robert Levin, original liner notes

"The Man I Love" is the Gershwin song, played by a quintet with Jordan, Smith, Burrell and the rhythm section, no tenors. John A. Tynan, reviewing it in Down Beat, liked the bass:

On the standard Man I Love, Jones once more proves his value as a soloist …

John A. Tynan, Down Beat, 1962, reprinted on The Jazz Tome

Side two opens with "Chuckin'," written by Sam Jones, the longest track on either volume at over 12 minutes, with Timmons again and the two tenors. The record ends with Burrell's "Phinupi," with Jordan at the piano and Cook as the only tenor. Levin heard Jordan's playing there as spare and calm.

Wikipedia credits Andy Warhol with the cover illustration for the pair, in a design by Reid Miles.

Tynan gave the record four stars and heard in the young horn players a promise of more to come. By the time it came out, Burrell had led more sessions of his own for Blue Note, in 1959. "Rock Salt" was also issued on a 45, in two parts, in 1961.