BST 84272

Blue Mitchell - Heads Up!

Released - December 1968

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 17, 1967
Burt Collins, Blue Mitchell, trumpet; Julian Priester, trombone; Jerry Dodgion, alto sax, flute; Junior Cook, tenor sax; Pepper Adams, baritone sax; McCoy Tyner, piano; Gene Taylor, bass; Al Foster, drums; Jimmy Heath, Melba Liston, Duke Pearson, Don Pickett, arranger.

1988 tk.8 Len Sirrah
1989 tk.14 Togetherness
1990 tk.18 Heads Up! Feet Down!
1991 tk.24 Good Humor Man
1992 tk.32 The Folks Who Live On The Hill
1993 tk.34 The People In Nassau

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Heads Up! Feet Down!	Jimmy Heath	November 17 1967
Togetherness	Jimmy Heath	November 17 1967
The Folks Who Live On the Hill	Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II	November 17 1967
Side Two
Good Humour Man	Don Pickett	November 17 1967
Len Sirrah	Melba Liston	November 17 1967
The People in Nassau	Blue Mitchell	November 17 1967

Liner Notes

THE COMBINATION of Blue Mitchell, Jimmy Heath and Duke Pearson once again is clicking in what seems to be another fine release for this team.

Blue, who is one of the few trumpet players that is always conscious of his work, has again turned in a beautiful performance in this, his fifth album for thee Blue Note label. Each album gets better as he goes along, because as he gained experience, he has become more confident.

As I stated some time ago, Duke Pearson has been the man behind many recognized artists on this label. Duke takes a deep interest in the artists and tries to protect their top qualities and greatest potentials in whatever he arranges or writes. He is one of the most concise and articulate men in the industry.

Heads Up! Feet Down! and Togetherness were written by Jimmy “Little Bird" Heath and are very well arranged by him for this particular assembly of gentlemen. Togetherness, especially brought out some of the hidden qualities that tenorist Junior Cook has possessed for so many years and has never really had the opening to demonstrate.

The Folks Who Live On The Hill, an old Jerome Kern melody arranged by Pearson is given the mail beautiful instrumental treatment that I have ever heard. The trio of McCoy Tyner, Gene Taylor, and Al Foster is both warm and graceful. They give you the impression that the people about whom the tune was written. were the type who really lived in a beautiful fashion and enjoyed the better things in life. The horns are subdued, and everyone is in perfect harmony with each other. This is the kind of arrangement that can really show off the true Blue Mitchell quality. He is lyrical, articulate, and in general a romanticist. (This is what I meant about Duke having the artist and his capabilities as his deepest concern.)

Good Humor Man takes Blue into his more lighter side that many people aren't too familiar with. Don Pickett, the composer and arranger, knew exactly what he wanted and Blue was the man who could project this “want" into reality. This was his reason for having the group record his composition.

Miss Melba Liston, the best female jazz trombonist around for many years, has given her talents to the recording industry as an instrumentalist, composer and arranger. Her composition Len Sirrah, is clearly an example of her many capabilities. It's rich in beauty and harmonic structure.

The People In Nassau, written by Blue and arranged by Duke Pearson, shows the sassy side of Blue. This s similar to Fungii Mama that he also wrote and recorded in his Thing To Do album (4178). Jerry Dodgion, multireedman, has a flute frolic on this tune. He stretches out and keeps things moving at a fiery clip.

As I mentioned this was the sassy side of Blue. He likes to write things that give you a picture of him not only as a musician, but as an individual. He Is never blue in mood or temperament, and neither does he play this way. For the many years that he has played with various groups, he has never quite really been discovered as the "great musician" that he is.

This album with the variation of scoring that has been presented to him by the writers, just might be the "big one" that he has been searching for so long. Here in one big beautiful package you have the sweet. lyrical and flamboyant faces of Mr Richard "Blue" Mitchell. This just could be the true arrival point for him.

—ELEANOR D TOWE

75th Anniversary CD Reissue Notes

After three quintet albums, Blue Mitchell brought Duke Pearson in to arrange for an ensemble that added three horns to the quintet. This formula worked well for Stanley Turrentine on various occasions, but Blue's "Boss Horn" did meet the same level of success. So exactly one year later to the day, Blue recorded "Heads Up!" with an additional trumpeter Burt Collins added to the ensemble and four arrangers including Pearson and old friend Jimmy Heath.

This album is rich in variety from Pearson's beautiful arrangement of "The Folks Who Live On The Hill" to Jimmy Heath's ultra-modern "Togetherness" (heard here in somewhat faster alternate take as well) to boogaloos like Heath's "Heads Up! Feet Down!" and Don Pickett's "Good Humor Man" which has been a popular download for hip hop artists.

This beautifully arranged album would be Mitchell's last acoustic album for the label. "Collision In Black", recorded a year later in Los Angeles would be a heavily produced R & B project.

- MICHAEL CUSCUNA