Customer Reviews

At the Cafe Bohemia 2

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I never realized it at the time, but the Blakey "At the Cafe Bohemia" sessions have proven to be one of those life-long companionships that simply never grow old. They become a part of you, playing themselves out in your memory every day but constantly challenging you to return to them for a reality check. Are they really that good?

Possibly even better. The albums I once thought I preferred--the "Moanin'" album, the Blakeys with Clifford or Lee Morgan at Birdland, the original Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers session--all sit proudly on my shelf, seminal sides that are practically iconic in their representation of a whole era and style of jazz. But they don't get played much.

The Bohemia sessions, on the other hand, remain eternally hip because they never try to be. The genial hosting of Blakey ("Take your shoes off, folks, and make yourself comfortable. We're about to have a little cookin' session for Blue Note"); the ceaselessly fertile melodic imagination of Mobley, immediately responsive to each of Blakey's rhythmic cues and set-ups; the unadorned sound and pure substance of Kenny Dorham's trumpet with its disdain for anything played for flash or show (Blakey even bringing down his dynamics to accommodate his "uncrowned trumpet king") ; the superior strengths of Silver as a "side man" rather than an overly directive composer-leader forcing the groove; the time and sound of Watkins' bass, so integral with the ensemble as to be no more noticeable yet no less critical than your own heartbeat--it all adds up to a moment in time I'd even trade for the one I spent in Birdland one night when Coltrane was playing opposite the quartet of Terry Gibbs and Alice McCleod. Even the prospect of catching Bird or Lady Day live doesn't excite me as much as the opportunity to hear Hank Mobley playing alongside Kenny Dorham or Miles Davis. (Actually, I once did catch Hank live, but it was far too late.)

If this one goes out of print, we're in deep trouble.

This is Volume 2 of the Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia on Nov. 23, 1955. It's just a tad below Volume 1 in quality, but there are plenty of things here to admire and enjoy. "Hank's symphony" is an up-tempo swinger written by Mobley, and "Sportin' crowd" is another Mobley tune, a blues that really cooks. "I waited for you" drags just a bit, but this is an important Blakey CD set (Volume 1 & 2) in the Messengers discography.

It is my firm belief that Volumes 1 & 2 of The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia are the genesis of what we know today as "the Blue Note Sound." While earlier albums, including Art's "A Night at Birdland" and "Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers" hinted at great things to come, these recordings just bring it all together for me. The hard bop is at a fever pitch, the songwriting is beginning to take on a more original and creative direction, and the lineup is killer -- Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley and Doug Watkins join Blakey and Silver. These are all trademarks of the great things we have come to expect from Blue Note. On Volume 2, standards "Like Someone in Love" and "Yesterdays" have fresh life breathed into them, while Mobley's "Avila and Tequila" adds the latin twist we'll hear later on "A Night in Tunisia." Finally, "I Waited for You" must be one of the best ballads of the mid-50s. Coupled with Volume 1 this is essential music.

I was absolutely thrilled with the music, it is superb, very easy listening, takes you away, makes you dream!!

This is the second volume of the recordings the original Jazz Messengers lineup made at NYC's Cafe Bohemia on 11/23/1955. Although Art Blakey would lead many subsequent versions of the group following this lineup's breakup in 1956, most of which are very good, this first, cooperative lineup had a certain combination of power, swing, melodicism and bluesy feeling that was never quite captured again. Kenny Dorham (trumpet) and Hank Mobley (tenor sax) make a formidable front line, as well as providing two of its three main writers (the other being pianist Horace Silver, who would himself go on to a long illustrious solo career). The first three cuts along show their versatility within the then-emerging hard bop format, as they cook at a fast tempo on Mobley's "Sportin' Crowd", aka Sonny Rollins' "Tenor Madness"; hit a medium-paced groove on the standard "Like Someone In Love", and showcase Dorham's ballad style on "Yesterdays". There's also a taste of things to come for the Messengers on another Mobley composition, "Avila and Tequila", where the rest of the band (Dorham, Mobley, Silver and bassist Doug Watkins) play assorted percussion behind Blakey's drum solo. Blakey would adopt this for the early 60's lineup's arrangement of "A Night In Tunisia".

Beyond that, the best thing to do is just listen to the whole thing, preferably in tandem with the first volume At the Cafe Bohemia. This is in mono, and done in the early days of live recording in jazz clubs, so the sound balance can be slightly odd at times, but the crowd noise in the background gives you the "you are there" feeling vital to the success of a set like this. You can also tell that the musicians are feeding off the crowd, putting a little more intensity in their solos. A great document of one of the key jazz ensembles of the mid 1950s, in their element, just a few months before they would all go their separate ways. Fortunately they left behind this. Dig it.

Those were Horace Silver's words describing the horn section of the 1st edition of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Kenny Dorham and Hank Mobley weren't the flashiest players, and they were overlooked in the era of Miles and Clifford and Sonny and Trane. But they were also gifted improvisers and composers, as the Bohemia recordings clearly show. Kenny was more boppish than Miles but definitely a middle-register trumpeter; while Hank had a mellow, soulful sound perfect for hard bop. Add the tireless drums of Blakey and the blues-drenched piano of Horace Silver, and you've got a winning combo. This is the same lineup that recorded the classic album Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers about a year earlier; but there aren't any Silver compositions on either volume of the Bohemia recordings.

Volume 2 focuses primarily on Hank Mobley's contributions. "Sportin' Crowd" (a.k.a. "Tenor Madness" of Rollins-Coltrane fame) swings hard, while "Avila & Tequila" is an intense Afro-Latin romp that ranks among his best compositions. As far as standards go, "Like Someone in Love" has that great groovy feel that Blakey and his bands perfected. If you like this CD, get Volume 1 as well as Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers (also on Blue Note).

Although I was musically trained in Classical music, at age 15 I was given a Royal Roost Label jazz recording on 78 rpm. Soon, my vinyl 33 1/3 collection began with Horace Silver, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. I still have my original vinyl collection, but have added the CD versions piecemeal over the past 15 years.