Art Blakey - At The Café Bohemia, Volume One (RVG) - 1955 (2001)

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Art Blakey - At The Café Bohemia, Volume One (RVG) - 1955 (2001)

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Product Description: Although the great drummer Art Blakey took full control of the Messengers soon after, this 1955 live date features the original lineup, the one co-led by pianist Horace Silver. Filled out by trumpeter Kenny Dorham, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, and bassist Doug Watkins, the original Messengers recorded just one studio record (billed as Horace Silver & the Jazz Messengers), which quickly became the standard to beat in hard bop. Volume 1 of the Bohemia records shows them to be a versatile bunch capable of lightning-quick bop workouts, tender ballads, and deep, bluesy grooves. Dorham's trumpet work is especially vibrant; Silver's piano is an unmatched combination of funk and fire, and he also offers some marvelously clever accompaniment. Blakey, of course, steers from behind the skins. After Blakey and Silver split, both led bands that were at the pinnacle of hard bop, so imagine how potent they were when they played together. Recorded live at the Cafe Bohemia, New York, New York on November 23, 1955. Originally released on Bluenote (1507). Includes liner notes by Bob Blumenthal. Digitally remastered by Rudy Van Gelder. This is part of Blue Note's Rudy Van Gelder Editions series.

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Art Blakey - At The Café Bohemia, Volume One (RVG) - 1955 (2001)

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Review: In 1955, Art Blakey after the success of his all star pick up group at Birdland the previous year with the legendary trumpeter Clifford Brown, the Charlie Parker influenced, blusier edged alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, Horace Silver on piano and bassist Curly Russell, the drummer decided to form a more permanent band "The Jazz Messengers". The first true working band edition featured a number of then bright young stars such as Kenny Dorham on trumpet, a very overlooked but excellent hardbop player, Hank Mobley on tenor sax, Silver again on piano and Doug Watkins on bass who was one of the finest bassists on the NY scene at the time by way of detroit, and cousin of Paul Chambers. Blakey and the Jazz Messengers were caught live on November 23, 1955 at the Cafe Bohemia in a night of music that resulted in a pair of Blue Note albums and a third volume of unreleased material(which is included on these new reissues) only released in Japan. The jazz standard "Soft Winds" starts the album, and it is one of those perfect tunes that opens so many classic Blue Note albums with a relaxed unhurried atmosphere. Mobley takes several choruses which showcase his gorgeous round tone, the so called "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone" sounds perfectly at home with inventive lines throughout. Kenny Dorham takes similar liberties mixing his phrases with cool, lengthy, funky overtones and the bebop vocabulary which was the preferred language of the time. Blakey keeps a solid bluesy medium tempo through much of the solos, but he mixes in a little bit of a surprise during Dorham's solo by doubletiming behind Kenny twice (all other soloists once) which allows him to get a bit looser and Art to insert some choice accents of multi rhythmic(cross rhythms) snare and rim shots. Horace Silver's solo is peppered with the funk for which he is so well known, greasy in the pocket right hand runs compliment his probing single note lines in the left with occasional staccato stabs for percussive effect. Blakey again slips into doubletime for Horace, which the accelerated tempo is used for longest duration of any soloist of the tune, and Silver delivers one of his finest solos of the disc.

"The Theme", a Jazz Messenger and Miles Davis staple for sign offs, is given an jolting early set rendition with Dorham taking advantage of the quickened pace, each soloist given the opportunity to take a stroll (piano lays out) with the exception of Silver and Art. Kenny Dorham's composition "Minor's Holiday" is another tune that is a highlight, if not the highlight of this first Cafe Bohemia volume. A mallet introduction by Blakey sets up the tune, with Dorham again favoring a blistering pace(as he does on both albums) quoting "Sing Sing Sing" during his solo. Hank Mobley charges in with a deep determination to gobble up the tune's structure, Blakey unleashing heavy artillery at the start of his choruses, sounding like a chef in a kitchen with his blast of rim shots. Silver has a nice solo as well announcing himself in a gritty manner. It is interesting to note the initial Silver influence in Jimmy Smith in the way Smith plays chords on his early Blue Note sessions is detected, although of course Jimmy would turn any funky leanings into his own thing. Dorham joins Blakey for a short series of four bar exchanges, before playing in somewhat of a duet with Art before the return of the main melody. Other highlights on the disc include "Alone Together" in which Hank is given a chance to announce the tune in a lazy southern drawl, and the "All The Things You Are" variant, "Prince Albert". 3 bonus tracks round out the program, including Mobley's "Deciphering the Message" which is allowed a superior, stretched out treatment here than on the Messengers self titled 1956 release for Columbia.

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Art Blakey - At The Café Bohemia, Volume One (RVG) - 1955 (2001)

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The remastering done by Rudy Van Gelder here is excellent. I do not have the mid 80's Ron McMaster mastered versions to compare to, but the sound Rudy gives the recording which he originally engineered a more life like balanced sound that is more pleasing to the ears. The listener is able to hear nuances of the instruments such as fingers on trumpet valves very clearly, and characteristics of Blakey's loose tuned drum sound. By comparison most of the mid 80's Blue Note releases that have been precursors to RVG editions are very muddy, have little bass definition and an inappropriate amount of treble. The packaging I find very nice too, these new Bohemia volumes take on a white color scheme in the tray insert that matches the original cover art (not the butchered 80's CD version art) perfectly. The design has "THE JAZZ MESSENGERS" written in large bold red type with photos each musician at the bottom half of the cover. Blue Note obtained covers from record collectors for use so the aged look of the cover is a great touch. Liner notes from critic Bob Blumenthal provide interesting historical insight that may or may not reveal new information to the seasoned jazz fan, but definitely could be helpful to new listeners discovering the legacy of Blue Note through these deluxe RVG editions. Also some session photos by Francis Wolff that fold out to full view in the booklet are very nice, some of them are well known such as the picture of Horace Silver, and some are published for the first time.

"The Jazz Messengers At the Cafe Bohemia" in both volumes are very essential Blakey purchases, just as essential as the "A Night At Birdland" records, and later albums such as "Moanin"(also available in the RVG series) and "A Night in Tunisia". Since both Bohemia volumes are offered at very cheap prices for excellently remastered versions, they can be very affordable additions to new or veteran collections.

Note: Credit to ojorojo28 , the original uploader.

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Art Blakey - At The Café Bohemia, Volume One (RVG) - 1955 (2001)

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Art Blakey - At The Café Bohemia, Volume One (RVG) - 1955 (2001)

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