At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1
Encyclopedia
At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1 is a 1955 live album
release by jazz
drummer
Art Blakey
for Blue Note Records
. It featured the third incarnation of the Jazz Messengers, 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?"
Production:
." Tenor saxophonist
Hank Mobley
, in particular, is noted as "a somewhat unfocused stylist." However, trumpet
er 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."
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
release by jazz
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...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
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....
for 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...
. It featured the third incarnation of the Jazz Messengers, Blakey's career-spanning band, and is the first of two volumes recorded on November 23, 1955 at Café Bohemia
Café Bohemia
The Café Bohemia was a jazz club located at 15 Barrow Street in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of New York City.-History:The club was opened in 1955 by Jimmy Garofolo. Garofolo had owned the room since 1949 and had operated it as a restaurant, bar, and stage at various times, each endeavour...
, a famous night club in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
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 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 - Horace SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
— piano - Kenny DorhamKenny DorhamMcKinley Howard Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did...
— trumpet - Hank MobleyHank MobleyHenry Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz...
— 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...
(tenorTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
) - Doug WatkinsDoug WatkinsDouglas Watkins was an American hard bop jazz double bassist from Detroit.-Biography:An original member of the Jazz Messengers, he later played in Horace Silver's quintet and freelanced with Gene Ammons, Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Art Farmer, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Sonny Rollins,...
— 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
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 BirdlandA Night at Birdland Vol. 1
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 and then as a 12" LP containing material from the third 10" album...
." Tenor saxophonist
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
Hank Mobley
Hank Mobley
Henry Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz...
, in particular, is noted as "a somewhat unfocused stylist." However, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er Kenny Dorham
Kenny Dorham
McKinley Howard Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did...
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."