A Night at Birdland Vol. 1
Encyclopedia
A Night at Birdland Vol. 1 is a 1954 release by jazz
artist Art Blakey
. It was first released by Blue Note Records
as a 10" LP (BLP 5037) and then as a 12" LP (BLP 1521) containing material from the third 10" album. It has seen subsequent reissues on CD
since 1987 from that same label.
All of the music surfaced as part of a Clifford Brown
box set for Mosaic Records
(MR5-104) and a complete Clifford Brown set put out by Capitol has also appeared. Two previously issued additional tracks not on the original albums (an alternate take of Wee-Dot and an improvisational piece titled Blues) are included.
The recording was produced by Alfred Lion
and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder
for Blue Note. The reissues were produced by Michael Cuscuna. The spoken announcement by Pee Wee Marquette
is sampled in the US3
song "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)"
Bonus tracks on 2001 CD reissue:
Production:
to be part of their "core collection." Allaboutjazz.com reviewer said it simply with "Blakey and company had clicked that night at Birdland." Allmusic mentions that, on this first album, "all of the participants [are] in inspired form. Classic bop."
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
artist Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
. It was first released by Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
as a 10" LP (BLP 5037) and then as a 12" LP (BLP 1521) containing material from the third 10" album. It has seen subsequent reissues on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
since 1987 from that same label.
All of the music surfaced as part of a Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings...
box set for Mosaic Records
Mosaic Records
Mosaic Records is an American specialist jazz record label, founded in 1983 by Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie to issue coherent limited edition box sets of jazz recordings by individual musicians, which had fallen out-of-print...
(MR5-104) and a complete Clifford Brown set put out by Capitol has also appeared. Two previously issued additional tracks not on the original albums (an alternate take of Wee-Dot and an improvisational piece titled Blues) are included.
The recording was produced by Alfred Lion
Alfred Lion
Alfred Lion was a Jewish German-born American record executive who co-founded Blue Note Records in 1939 Blue Note recorded many of the biggest names in jazz throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.-Biography:...
and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
for Blue Note. The reissues were produced by Michael Cuscuna. The spoken announcement by Pee Wee Marquette
Pee Wee Marquette
William Crayton "Pee Wee" Marquette is the former master of ceremonies at the Birdland jazz club in New York City. Marquette is under four feet tall, most likely three foot nine, and his high enthusiastic voice can be heard making the introductions on Art Blakey's 1954 record A Night at Birdland...
is sampled in the US3
US3
Us3 is a jazz-rap group founded in London in 1991. Their name was inspired by a Horace Parlan recording produced by Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note Records. On their debut album, Hand on the Torch, Us3 used samples from the Blue Note Records catalogue, all originally produced by...
song "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)"
Track listing
- "Announcement by Pee Wee MarquettePee Wee MarquetteWilliam Crayton "Pee Wee" Marquette is the former master of ceremonies at the Birdland jazz club in New York City. Marquette is under four feet tall, most likely three foot nine, and his high enthusiastic voice can be heard making the introductions on Art Blakey's 1954 record A Night at Birdland...
" – 0:58 - "Split Kick" (SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
) – 8:44 - "Once in a While" (Edwards, GreenBud GreenBud Green was an Austrian-born songwriter. Bud Green grew up in Harlem at 108th & Madison Ave. at the turn of the century, the eldest of seven. He dropped out of elementary school to sell newspapers and help the family...
) – 5:18 - "Quicksilver" (SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
) – 6:58 - "A Night in TunisiaA Night in Tunisia"A Night in Tunisia" is a musical composition written by Dizzy Gillespie in 1942 while he was playing with the Earl Hines Band. It has become a jazz standard....
" (GillespieDizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Paparelli) – 9:20 - "Mayreh" (SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
) – 6:19
Bonus tracks on 2001 CD reissue:
- "Wee-Dot (alternate take)" (JohnsonJ.J. JohnsonJ. J. Johnson was a United States jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. He was sometimes credited as Jay Jay Johnson....
, ParkerLeo ParkerLeo Parker was an American jazz baritone saxophonist.Parker studied alto saxophone in high school, and played this instrument on a recording with Coleman Hawkins in 1944. He switched to baritone saxophone later that year when he joined Billy Eckstine's bebop band, playing there until 1946...
) – 6:53 - "Blues (Improvisation)" (Traditional) – 8:37
Personnel
Art Blakey Quintet:- Art BlakeyArt BlakeyArthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
– drums - Clifford BrownClifford BrownClifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings...
– trumpet - Lou DonaldsonLou DonaldsonLou Donaldson is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.His first recordings were...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
(altoAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
) - Curley RussellCurley RussellDillon "Curley" Russell was an American jazz double-bassist, who played bass on many bebop recordings.A member of the Tadd Dameron Sextet, in his heyday he was in demand for his ability to play at the rapid tempos typical of bebop, and appears on several key recordings of the period...
– bass - Horace SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
– piano
Production:
- Bob Bluementhal, Leonard FeatherLeonard FeatherLeonard Geoffrey Feather was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.-Biography:...
— liner notes - Michael Cuscuna — reissue producer
- John Hermansader or Reid Miles — cover design
- Alfred Lion — producer
- Ron McMaster — digital transfers (1987)
- Rudy Van Gelder — engineer, mastering (1954 and 2001)
- Francis Wolff — photography
Reception
The two albums that were released from the Birdland sessions are considered by The Penguin Guide to JazzThe Penguin Guide to Jazz
The Penguin Guide to Jazz is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which are currently available in Europe or the United States...
to be part of their "core collection." Allaboutjazz.com reviewer said it simply with "Blakey and company had clicked that night at Birdland." Allmusic mentions that, on this first album, "all of the participants [are] in inspired form. Classic bop."