All-Analog 180 gram Vinyl LP of Bobby Hutcherson's The Kicker Mastered from the Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray & Pressed at RTI : Reference-Caliber Blue Note Reissue Helmed by Music Matters' Joe Harley.

Recorded in 1963, The Kicker was actually vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson's first session as a leader for Blue Note, but for reasons lost to time it was shelved, and instead Hutcherson's album Dialogue was released as his debut two years later. First released in 1999, and getting its first-ever vinyl release here, The Kicker is a sequel to guitarist Grant Green's masterpiece Idle Moments, which was recorded one month earlier with the exact same personnel featuring Green, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Duke Pearson, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Al Harewood.

Blue Note Records has announced the continuation of the acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series in 2020. Launched in 2019 in honor of the label's 80th Anniversary, the Tone Poet series is produced by Joe Harley (from Music Matters) and features all-analog, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues that are mastered from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio. Tone Poet vinyl is manufactured at RTI in Camarillo, CA, and packaged in deluxe Stoughton Printing "Old Style" gatefold Tip-On jackets. The titles were once again handpicked by Harley and cover the crème de la crème of the Blue Note catalog along with underrated classics, modern era standouts, and albums from other labels under the Blue Note umbrella including Pacific Jazz and United Artists Records. Every aspect of these Blue Note / Tone Poet releases is done to the highest-possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version.

"The LPs are mastered directly from the original analog master tapes by Kevin at his incredible facility called Cohearent Mastering. We go about it in the exact same way that we did for so many years for the Music Matters Blue Note reissues. We do not roll off the low end, boost the top or do any limiting of any kind. We allow the full glory of the original Blue Note masters to come though unimpeded ! Short of having an actual time machine, this is as close as you can get to going back and being a fly on the wall for an original Blue Note recording session". - Joe Harley