Blue Note · in the Kissa Kissa racks
A Blowing Session
| Recorded | Apr 6, 1957 |
|---|---|
| Label | Blue Note |
| Catalog | BLP 1559 |
| Released | 1957 |
| Personnel | 7 credited players |
| Discogs | master 248009 |
The record
Three tenors trading bar for bar -- Griffin's blistering speed against Mobley's round tone and Coltrane's searching intensity, with Lee Morgan's trumpet cutting through and Blakey driving hard underneath. A tenor battle royale that could only happen on Blue Note in 1957, capturing a fleeting moment before Coltrane's ascent changed the conversation entirely.
Session personnel
- Paul Chambers — bass
- Art Blakey — drums
- Wynton Kelly — piano
- Hank Mobley — tenor saxophone
- John Coltrane — tenor saxophone
- Johnny Griffin — tenor saxophone
- Lee Morgan — trumpet
Contemporary reception
No period review located yet. The vintage-press pipeline searches DownBeat, Cash Box, and Billboard for this session.
Pressings
The earliest pressing on file here is the 1957 US Blue Note mono, BLP 1559, with a deep groove and the 47 W 63rd address -- the address is what to check first, because the same catalog number was reused for a 1972 US mono reissue and again for French copies in 1983. Classic Records cut BNLP-1559 in 2004, and Blue Note's 2025 mono reissue is 7507954.
Showing the first pressing, audiophile reissues and copies carrying a collector marker, out of 28 pressings on file.
| 1957 | Blue Note · BLP 1559 — Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono earliest on file · deep groove; 47 W 63rd address |
|---|---|
| 1984 | Blue Note · BLP 1559 — Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Mono · RVG stamp |
| 1984 | Blue Note · BLP 1559 — Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Promo, Reissue, Mono · RVG stamp |
| 1988 | Blue Note · CDP 7 81559 2 — CD, Album, Reissue · RVG stamp |
| 1988 | Blue Note · B1-81559 — Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue · RVG stamp |
| 1996 | Blue Note · TOCJ-1559 — CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Mono · RVG stamp |
| 1998 | Blue Note · 7243 4 97190 2 — CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Digipak · RVG stamp |
| 2019 | Jazz Images · 37129 — Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue · deep groove |
| 2025 | Blue Note · 7507954 — Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Mono, 180 Gram · deep groove |
| 1972 | Blue Note · BLP 1559 — Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Mono |
| 1978 | Blue Note · GXK 8091 (M) — Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Mono |
| 1978 | Blue Note · GXK 8091 (M) — Vinyl, LP, Album, Promo, Reissue, Mono |
| 1982 | Blue Note · BLP 1559 — Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Test Pressing, Mono |
| 1983 | Blue Note · BLP 1559 — Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Mono |
Follow the players
Paul Chambers also plays on
Art Blakey also plays on
Wynton Kelly also plays on