Artist: Curtis Fuller
Album: The Opener
Genre: Jazz
Release Date: 1957/2013
Audio Format:: FLAC (tracks) 24 bit, 192 kHz
Duration: 36:57
Total Tracks: 6
Total Size: 1,35 GB

Tracklist:

01. Curtis Fuller – A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening (06:50)
02. Curtis Fuller – Hugore (06:43)
03. Curtis Fuller – Oscalypso (05:40)
04. Curtis Fuller – Here’s To My Lady (06:42)
05. Curtis Fuller – Lizzy’s Bounce (05:23)
06. Curtis Fuller – Soon (05:36)

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Originally issued as Blue Note BLP 1567

“In preparing these hi def remasters, we were very conscientious about maintaining the feel of the original releases while adding a previously unattainable transparency and depth. It now sounds like you’ve set up your chaise lounge right in the middle of Rudy Van Gelder’s studio!” – Blue Note President, Don Was.

The Opener is Curtis Fuller’s remarkable debut on Blue Note Records. The trombonist delivers a fine set that features the tunes, “A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening,” “Here’s To My Lady” and “Soon.” Fuller is joined by Hank Mobley, Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers and Art Taylor.The Opener is trombonist Curtis Fuller’s first album for Blue Note and it is a thoroughly impressive affair. Working with a quintet featuring tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor, Fuller runs through a set of three standards — “A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening,” “Here’s to My Lady,” “Soon” — two originals and an Oscar Pettiford-penned calypso. The six songs give Fuller a chance to display his warm, fluid style in all of its variations. “A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening” illustrates that he can be seductive and lyrical on ballads, while the brassy “Hugore” and hard-swinging “Lizzy’s Bounce” shows that he can play hard without getting sloppy. His backing musicians are equally impressive; in particular, Mobley’s robust playing steals the show. In all, The Opener, along with his three earlier sessions for Prestige and New Jazz, establishes Fuller as one of the most distinctive and original hard bop trombonists of the late ’50s.