This is the second half of one night at the Hickory House. Leonard Feather wrote one set of notes for both volumes: how he met Jutta Hipp in Germany, how she came to New York in November 1955, and how hearing the pianists there, Horace Silver above all, first froze her and then got her moving.
The challenge galvanized Jutta into action, enthusiastic action.
Leonard Feather, original liner notes
The job on West 52nd Street gave her a place to play every night. By the time Feather was writing, she was in her third month there.
The night was Thursday, April 5, 1956. Feather says two whole LPs were taped in one evening at the club, with Rudy Van Gelder engineering. Peter Ind played bass and Ed Thigpen drums, as on Volume 1. Of the 20 tunes, these are the second 10.
Side one opens with "Gone With the Wind," then Avery Parrish's "After Hours." Feather says the GIs who heard her play it in service clubs in Germany would welcome it here. Tadd Dameron's "The Squirrel" and "We'll Be Together Again" follow, and the side ends with "Horacio," Hipp's own tune and her nod to Horace Silver. Side two is standards: "I Married an Angel," "Moonlight in Vermont," "Star Eyes," "If I Had You" and "My Heart Stood Still." Feather declines to pick favourites.
It would be superfluous to single out any one tune for comment
Leonard Feather, original liner notes
The trade papers were polite. Billboard granted her facility but missed the fire. Bill Coss, in Metronome, called it a characteristic album, helped along by the rhythm section.
The sleeve, like Volume 1's, is credited by Wikipedia to Reid Miles's design and Francis Wolff's photography.
When it came out is not settled. Our discography lists 1957, and Billboard and Metronome reviewed it in December 1957 and January 1958; Wikipedia puts both volumes out in June 1956.
There was one more Blue Note date, with Zoot Sims in July 1956. Wikipedia tells the rest: a break with Feather in 1957, then no more music after 1958. She spent 35 years working for the clothing firm Wallachs in New York. In 2001, Blue Note found her and handed her a royalty check.
