Vinyl Reissue of ‘Chico Hamilton Quintet Featuring Buddy Collette’ Coming Soon

An exciting new addition to Blue Note’s Tone Poet vinyl reissue series comes from the archives of Chico Hamilton. A fresh pressing of the drummer and bandleader’s 1955 classic Chico Hamilton Quintet Featuring Buddy Collette will be released on Sept. 5.

Initially released on Pacific Jazz, the project matched Hamilton with Collette on woodwinds, Jim Hall on guitar, Fred Katz on cello, and Carson Smith on bass. Together, they conjured a version of chamber jazz that felt suave, cinematic, and forward-thinking. The Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe tip-on jacket.

In 1955, Hamilton was just getting into his career as a bandleader, but he’d already established an impressive catalog as a drummer, dating back to his high school days in the 1930s playing alongside legends like Charles Mingus and Dexter Gordon in Los Angeles. He also played with Collette in those years, setting the stage for their time together in Hamilton’s pioneering quintet.

When the time came to track this album, the unconventional choice to include a cellist in his band marked Hamilton as a creative visionary capable of merging jazz and classical sounds in refreshing ways. All Music Guide has touted Hamilton’s quintet as “one of the last important West Coast jazz bands,” alluding to the cool jazz subgenre that proliferated in California during Hamilton’s heyday.

Split between a live side and a studio side, Chico Hamilton Quintet Featuring Buddy Collette shows off the range of Hamilton’s band. The first half of the album puts an exploratory spin on even jazz standards like “My Funny Valentine,” while the back half of the tracklist lets things rip without compromising the unique character of Hamilton’s approach.

Buy Chico Hamilton Quintet Featuring Buddy Collette on vinyl now.