Customer Reviews

Night in Tunisia

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

And it gets sorta confusing:
This is the A Night In Tunisia from 1958, formerly available as a double-set along with 1957's Jazz Messengers Play Lerner & Loewe. The most famous A Night In Tunisia is the 1960 set on Blue Note Records. And there is also a 3rd album entitled A Night In Tunisia on Emarcy/Polygram Records, which was recorded in Japan in 1979.

For my money, the Blue Note session just barely edges out this one for Best Performance, with the '79 finishing a distant 3rd. Hope that clears up the confusion!

This CD does not include the line-up mentioned in the review, however, it does include one of Jackie McLean's last appearances with the Messengers. Interestingly the CD cover (which accurately reproduces the original album) does not mention McLean. Because he was already under contract to a different record company at the time of the release, he appears under a false name. The story is told in the liner notes.

This twin sax, sextet version of the Messengers sounds great. I was hooked from the moment I heard Blakey's drum intro on the title track. If you like Blakey and bop, you will like this CD.

This is a solid album, especially the medium-tempo Off the Wall. It has some good solo work, and some interesting originals.

Of the 3 horn players, Jackie Mclean is probably the most well known, but his playing here is not as good as I've heard in other places. THere are many times where his lines are very polished, but just not quite adventurous enough. By contrast, trumpeter Hardman's solos are impassioned, but he isn't very accurate. Thus, Johnny Griffin steals the show, as he manages to take the best of both, especially on his Off the Wall solo.

Blakey's drumming is stellar as usual, though the rhythmic contributions of pianist Sam Dockery and basist Spanky de Brest are forgettable. Neither man would ever make a name for himself.

All in all, this is a fun album to listen to, as the cover says "a racuous hard bop session," and its cool to see Mclean and Griffin playing togehter. Unfortunately, it cannot hold a candle to the first of the great post-Silver Art Blakey bands. Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons and especially Lee Morgan don't come in for another year or so, and its knowing of the amazing albums that come later that keep this one from being a classic.

The editorial review included on this page is not for this album. Despite the same title, I don't think the personnel is the same and they are on different labels. The review is of the Blue Note release.

There are several Blakey albums that share this title, the best known being the 1960 Blue Note session with Morgan and Shorter. In fact, the Amazon description mistakenly refers to the 1960 session. This 1957 RCA/Vik date, originally released under the title "Theory of Art," is equally interesting to my ears, especially with musicians like Bill Hardman, Johnny Griffin, and Jackie McClean on hand. But of even greater interest is a "two-fer" album on the Collectables label that combines this session with a 1957 RCA/Vik recording called "Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Play Lerner and Lowe." There's also a monster Blakey session circa 1980 titled "Night in Tunisia," with David Schnitter, Bobby Watson, Valery Ponomarev and James Williams on board. It's hard to go wrong with any of these three recordings.

[Perhaps the "know-it-all" who immediately gave a negative rating to what I believe to be a factual clarification could be of some productive use if he or she instead chose to set the record straight. My source of information is allmusic.com as well as the CD's themselves.]