At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1
| At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by The Jazz Messengers | ||||
| Released | Early April 1956[1] | |||
| Recorded |
November 23, 1955 Cafe Bohemia, New York City | |||
| Genre | Hardbop | |||
| Length |
41:54 (original LP) 64:48 (CD reissue) | |||
| Label |
Blue Note Records BLP 1507 | |||
| Producer | Alfred Lion | |||
| The Jazz Messengers chronology | ||||
| ||||
At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1 is a live album by the Jazz Messengers for Blue Note Records. It featured the original incarnation of the Jazz Messengers, Art Blakey's career-spanning band, and is the first of two volumes recorded on November 23, 1955 at Café Bohemia, a famous night club in Greenwich Village in New York.
With the July 31, 2001 CD re-issue, three additional tracks from this night were added: "Lady Bird", "Deciphering the Message", and "What's New?".
Track listing
- Announcement by Art Blakey 1:32
- "Soft Winds" 12:34
- "The Theme" 6:11
- "Minor's Holiday" 9:11
- "Alone Together" 4:15
- "Prince Albert" 8:51
- "Lady Bird" (reissue bonus track) 7:30
- "What's New?" (reissue bonus track) 4:31
- "Deciphering the Message" (reissue bonus track) 10:13
Personnel
- Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
- Art Blakey — drums
- Horace Silver — piano
- Kenny Dorham — trumpet
- Hank Mobley — saxophone (tenor)
- Doug Watkins — bass
- Production
- Bob Bluementhal, Leonard Feather — liner notes
- Michael Cuscuna — reissue producer
- John Hermansader — cover design
- Alfred Lion — producer
- Rudy Van Gelder — digital remastering
- Francis Wolff — photography
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Penguin Guide to Jazz |  |
This album, which sees the first version of The Jazz Messengers on record, was noted as not "match[ing] the intensity which the quintet secured at Birdland."[3] Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, in particular, is noted as "a somewhat unfocused stylist."[3] However, trumpeter Kenny Dorham is seen as an "elusive brilliance [that] was seldom so extensively captured" and the playing in general "is just as absorbing" as the Birdland albums and is "still timeless music."[3][4]
References
- ↑ Billboard Apr 14, 1956
- ↑ Nastos, Michael G.. At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1 at AllMusic
- 1 2 3 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2004). The Penguin Guide to Jazz (7th Edition). Penguin Books. p. 153. ISBN 0-14-101416-4.
- ↑ Scott Yanow. "At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1". Retrieved 2006-11-26.