Ike Quebec: The Complete Blue Note 45 Sessions

Blue Note, 1987

The Complete Blue Note 45 Sessions of Ike Quebec collects a phenomenal body of work produced between 1959-62 by a key player in the Blue Note Story. The saxophonist had recorded a series of 78s for Alfred Lion in the 1940s and also served as a talent scout who encouraged Lion to record important figures of the emerging bebop scene including Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. After a difficult period through the 1950s during which Quebec fell off the scene, Lion reconnected with his friend and began to reintroduce Quebec’s music to jazz fans in 1959 with a series of 45 jukebox singles that were well received and revealed a formidable stylist very much at the top of his game. His full-throated yet utterly relaxed sound was ideally suited to a wide range of material from ballads to blues. The success of Quebec’s comeback inspired Lion to keep going, capturing four sessions of material with a revolving cast of musicians that yielded classic tracks including “A Light Reprieve,” “Blue Monday,” and “What A Difference A Day Makes.” Quebec would also go on to record several album sessions including the timeless soul jazz classics Heavy Soul, Blue & Sentimental, and Bossa Nova Soul Samba, capping a prolific end to a career that would be tragically cut short with his death from lung cancer at age 44 in 1963.