One of the most soulful of all trumpeters, Blue Mitchell could be identified within two notes. Mitchell learned a bit about soul when playing with r&b bands in the 1950s and quite a lot more during his six years as a member of the Horace Silver Quintet. When he left Silver, he took the pianist's band with him including tenor-saxophonist Junior Cook, filling in Silver's spot with a youngster named Chick Corea.

On The Thing To Do, the greatest of all Blue Mitchell recordings, the band introduces the very catchy "Fungii Mama," a true Blue Note gem. Other songs by Joe Henderson ("Step Lightly"), Jimmy Heath and Corea are prime hard bop that are filled with enthusiastic ensembles and solos that are direct and exciting. The Thing To Do is not only one of the finest recordings of 1964 but one of the most memorable Blue Note recordings of the era, and it shows that Blue Mitchell was the king of soul jazz trumpet.

Like all Music Matters Jazz releases, this audiophile vinyl reissue is mastered from the original analog tape and pressed on 180g virgin vinyl at RTI in Camarillo, CA. The highest quality gatefold cover features original session photography on the inside.

See more Blue Mitchell records here.