Johnny Coles - Little Johnny C LP (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series)

Trumpeter Johnny Coles was performing with the Gil Evans Orchestra at Birdland in 1959 when he unknowingly made a fan who would open an important door for him a few years later. That fan was pianist Duke Pearson, who was enthralled by the trumpeter’s solo spotlight that night, and after hearing him again the next year as a featured soloist in James Moody’s band, Pearson and Coles formed their own musical relationship and began performing together frequently. Alfred Lion came to hear Pearson at one such gig a couple of years later and loved what he heard, in particular a tune of Pearson’s called “Little Johnny C.” Lion gave Pearson the greenlight to assemble a Blue Note recording date with Coles as the leader, and so Pearson selected a program including five of his own original compositions that showcased Coles’ unique abilities such as the hard-charging “Heavy Legs,” the lilting waltz “My Secret Passion,” and the tender ballad “So Sweet My Little Girl.” The dynamic sextet Pearson put t