Kicker
The Kickeris an example of a fabulous recording never released for reasons totally unrelated to the quality of the music. This swinging December 1963 session was actually Bobby Hutcherson's first as a leader for Blue Note, but the more adventurousDialogue, from April 1965, was the first released under the visionary vibraphonist's name. Hutcherson, guitaristGrant Green, saxophonistJoe Henderson, and pianistDuke Pearson--the same mainstream lineup used on Green'sIdle Momentsdate a month earlier--fillThe Kickerwith bluesy, in-the-pocket jams. Its soulful sounds contrast sharply with the more radical studio work Hutcherson had created previously onJackie McLean'sOne Step Beyondand Grachan Moncur'sEvolutionor would do later onAndrew Hill'sJudgmentand Eric Dolphy'sOut to Lunch. Thus, a year after it was made, the comparatively conventional album was deemed unrepresentative of Hutcherson's artistry--he had since become a member of theArchie Sheppquartet--and it remained in the can for 36 years, until this 1999 release.--Mitchell Feldman