In November 1960, trumpeter Donald Byrd and his quintet recorded a live set of hard bop at the Half Note Café in New York City. Now, in 2025, Blue Note Records is reissuing At The Half Note Café, Vol. 2 as part of their Tone Poet series. The vinyl will be available on December 5th.
This album features talented musicians: Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, Duke Pearson on piano, Laymon Jackson on bass, and Lex Humphries on drums. Vol. 2 includes four tracks: “Jeannine,” “Pure D. Funk,” “Kimyas,” and “When Sunny Gets Blue.” Both “Pure” and “Kimyas” were written by Byrd.
The Tone Poet series was created by Blue Note President Don Was, who wanted to honor the high-quality reissues from Music Matters. He enlisted Joe Harley, known as the “Tone Poet,” to curate and oversee these releases. Each reissue pays close attention to detail, from the jacket design to the top-notch LP mastering by Kevin Gray, who works directly from the master tapes. The records are pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI) and come in a deluxe gatefold jacket.
Previous Tone Poet releases include Chet Baker’s Chet Baker Sings, Duke Ellington’s Money Jungle, and Herbie Hancock’s The Prisoner. At The Half Note Café Vol. 2 is the third reissue of Byrd’s work, following 1961’s Chant and 1960’s Byrd in Flight. Be sure to check out the Blue Note Tone Poet series!
