In addition to appearing as a sideman on dates led by Kenny Burrell, Freddie Hubbard, and Jackie McLean, tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks recorded several of his own Blue Note sessions as a leader between 1958-61. However, only one would be released during Brooks’ too-brief lifetime, the hard bop masterpiece True Blue.

A jewel of the Blue Note catalog, the album was recorded in June 1960 just one week after Brooks appeared on Hubbard’s own Blue Note debut Open Sesame. Once again Brooks and Hubbard joined forces on the frontline with Duke Jordan on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. The quintet take flight on five of Brooks’ distinctive compositions including “Good Old Soul,” “Up Tight’s Creek,” and the grooving title track before closing with an elegant version of the standard “Nothing Ever Changes My Love For You.”