Hutcherson, Bobby: Happenings (Blue Note Classic) LP

The crystalline sound of Bobby Hutcherson's vibraphone was an essential element of a broad range of Blue Note albums throughout the 1960s, spanning the stylistic spectrum from the hard bop of Grant Green's Idle Moments to the post-bop of Joe Henderson's Mode for Joe to the soul jazz of Big John Patton's Let 'Em Roll to the avant-garde of Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch! Following his brilliant 1965 album Components, Hutcherson returned to Van Gelder Studio in February 1966 for his fourth Blue Note session as a leader, Happenings, which would be his first to feature a quartet. This sublime post-bop outing presented six captivating Hutcherson originals including the spellbinding ballad "Bouquet," the Latin-tinged "Rojo," and the hard-charging "Head Start," as well a version of Hancock's now-classic composition "Maiden Voyage," which the pianist had recorded for his own Blue Note album of the same name the year prior.