Curtis Fuller - The Complete Blue Note, UA Curtis Fuller Sessions [1996] (3 x CDs)

SUNDAY JAZZ

CURTIS FULLER

Curtis Fuller - The Complete Blue Note, UA Curtis Fuller Sessions [1996] (3 x CDs)

1996 release Curtis Fuller -The Complete Blue Note/UA Curtis Fuller Sessions was issued by Mosaic Records as part of their limited‑edition box‑set series. It gathers a body of work that often slips between the cracks of jazz history, not because it lacks quality, but because Fuller’s brilliance was usually framed in the context of others, Coltrane, Blakey, Silver, and the many giants he supported. This 1996 set restores the spotlight, presenting the trombonist’s late-1950s and early-1960s sessions for Blue Note and United Artists as a coherent, self‑contained chapter. What emerges is a portrait of a musician whose voice was already fully formed: warm, agile, harmonically adventurous, and unmistakably his own.

Across these recordings, Fuller leads ensembles that reflect the era’s shifting landscape. You hear the hard‑bop vocabulary he helped define, but also the beginnings of a more lyrical, spacious approach that would shape his later work. His tone, round, centered, and effortlessly expressive, anchors every session, whether he’s navigating brisk lines or unfolding a ballad with patient clarity. The remastering brings out the richness of his sound, giving the trombone a presence that earlier pressings sometimes softened.

The sidemen add depth without overshadowing the leader. Players like Benny Golson, Lee Morgan, Sonny Clark, and Art Taylor bring their own sensibilities, but the music always bends toward Fuller’s melodic instincts. His writing, too, stands out: tunes that balance structure with openness, offering room for interplay without losing their shape. Tracks such as “A-Long Way From Home” and “Oscalypso” reveal a composer who understood how to craft memorable themes while leaving space for improvisation to breathe.

This set is essential because it gathers material that was scattered across short LPs and limited releases, presenting it with clarity and context. It shows Fuller not just as a sideman of historic importance, but as a leader with a distinct voice, one whose contributions to the Blue Note and UA catalogs deserve to be heard as a unified story. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Curtis Fuller - Lizzy's Bounce 5:23

02 Curtis Fuller - Soon 5:35

03 Curtis Fuller - A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening 6:51

04 Curtis Fuller - Here's to My Lady 6:43

05 Curtis Fuller - Oscalypso 5:39

06 Curtis Fuller - Hugore 6:43

07 Curtis Fuller - Algonquin 5:02

08 Curtis Fuller - Bone & Bari 6:18

09 Curtis Fuller - Nita's Waltz 6:56

10 Curtis Fuller - Again 7:20

11 Curtis Fuller - Heart and Soul 4:51

12 Curtis Fuller - Pickup 5:46

CD2

01 Curtis Fuller - Quantrale 6:11

02 Curtis Fuller - Two Quarters of A Mile 6:30

03 Curtis Fuller - Little Messenger 6:18

04 Curtis Fuller - It's Too Late Now 6:54

05 Curtis Fuller - Jeanie 6:48

06 Curtis Fuller - Carvon 6:56

07 Curtis Fuller - Pajama Tops 5:38

08 Curtis Fuller - Slide's Ride 3:59

09 Curtis Fuller - Loquacious Lady 4:11

10 Curtis Fuller - Mean Jean 5:40

CD3

01 Curtis Fuller - Fuss Budget 7:46

02 Curtis Fuller - Oatmeal Cookie 4:38

03 Curtis Fuller - Da-Baby 7:32

04 Curtis Fuller - Down Home 4:04

05 Curtis Fuller - Down Home (Alt. Tk.) 4:32

06 Curtis Fuller - C.T.A. 5:07

07 Curtis Fuller - When Lights Are Low 6:55

08 Curtis Fuller - I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone 5:51

09 Curtis Fuller - Bongo Bop 7:49

10 Curtis Fuller - Bit of Heaven 5:23

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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