A Night at Birdland, Vols. 1 & 2 are a pair of separate but related live albums by the Art Blakey Quintet. They were recorded at the Birdland jazz club on February 21, 1954 and released on Blue Note in 1956. The performance was originally spread out over three 10" LPs as A Night at Birdland Vols. 1–3 (1954).[2]
| A Night at Birdland | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Volume 1 (LP) | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | August 1956 (Volume 1) December 1956 (Volume 2)[1] | |||
| Recorded | February 21, 1954 | |||
| Venue | Birdland, NYC | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 37:37 (Vol. 1) 32:31 (Vol. 2) | |||
| Label | Blue Note BLP 1521 (Vol. 1) BLP 1522 (Vol. 2) | |||
| Producer | Alfred Lion | |||
| Art Blakey chronology | ||||
| ||||
| A Night at Birdland | ||||
 Volume 2 (LP) | ||||
| A Night at Birdland | ||||
| A Night at Birdland (CD) | ||||
 Volume 2 (CD) | ||||
Release history
editVolumes 1 and 2 were issued on CD in 1987 with new artwork based on the original ten-inches and two additional tracks each: an alternate take of "Wee-Dot" and an improvisational piece titled "Blues" on Volume 1, and "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Lou's Blues" on Volume 2—issued as side's one and two of the 12" A Night at Birdland, Vol. 3 released by Toshiba three years previously in 1984—the first three of which were previously released in 1975 on Live Messengers (BN-LA473-J2), a 2 LP compilation.
The "RVG Editions" were released on CD in 2001, remastered by Rudy Van Gelder with the tracks in a different order and restoring the original album covers from Volumes 1 & 2 of the 10"s.[3][2]
The concert was also included in The Complete Blue Note and Pacific Jazz Recordings of Clifford Brown box set.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic (Vol. 1) |   link |
| AllMusic (Vol. 2) | link |
| Penguin Guide to Jazz (Vol. 1) | [4] |
| Penguin Guide to Jazz (Vol. 2) | [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (Vol. 1) | [5] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (Vol. 2) | [5] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Vol. 1) | [6] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Vol. 2) | [6] |
| Tom Hull (Vol. 1) | A−[7] |
| Tom Hull (Vol. 2) | A−[7] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected both albums as part of their "core collection."[4]
A reviewer for All About Jazz said simply that "Blakey and company had clicked that night at Birdland."[8]
AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow stated that the first album "launches an initial breakthrough for Blakey and modern jazz in general, and defines the way jazz music could be heard for decades thereafter."[9] Regarding the second album, Yanow wrote: "there are extraordinary high points, along with low points that either result from tiredness or a lack or preparation."[10]
Bob Blumenthal, renowned hard-bop writer, refers to this as a historical jazz milestone.[11]
Track listing
editA Night at Birdland, Volume 1
edit| No. | Title | Music | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Announcement by Pee Wee Marquette" | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 | 0:58 | |
| 2. | "Split Kick" | Horace Silver | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 | 8:44 |
| 3. | "Once in a While" | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 | 5:18 | |
| 4. | "Quicksilver" | Horace Silver | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 | 6:58 |
| No. | Title | Music | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Night in Tunisia" | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 2 | 9:20 | |
| 2. | "Mayreh" | Horace Silver | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 2 | 6:19 |
| Total length: | 37:37 | |||
A Night at Birdland, Volume 2
edit| No. | Title | Music | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wee Dot" | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 2 | 7:19 | |
| 2. | "If I Had You" | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 3 | 3:31 | |
| 3. | "Quicksilver [alternate master]" | Horace Silver | previously unreleased | 8:46 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Now's the Time" | Charlie Parker | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 3 | 9:02 |
| 2. | "Confirmation" | Parker | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 3 | 9:12 |
| Total length: | 32:31 | |||
CD reissues
edit1987 Edition
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Announcement by Pee Wee Marquette" | 0:58 | ||
| 2. | "Split Kick" | Horace Silver | 8:44 | |
| 3. | "Once in a While" | Bud Green | Michael Edwards | 5:18 |
| 4. | "Quicksilver" | Horace Silver | 6:58 | |
| 5. | "Wee-Dot (alternate take)" (previously released on Live Messengers [BN-LA473-J2]) | J.J. Johnson, Leo Parker | 6:53 | |
| 6. | "Blues (Improvisation)" (previously released on Live Messengers [BN-LA473-J2]) | Traditional | 8:37 | |
| 7. | "A Night in Tunisia" | Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli | 9:20 | |
| 8. | "Mayreh" | Horace Silver | 6:19 | |
| Total length: | 53:07 | |||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wee Dot" | J.J. Johnson, Leo Parker | 7:19 | |
| 2. | "If I Had You" | Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly | Ted Shapiro | 3:31 |
| 3. | "Quicksilver [alternate master]" | Horace Silver | 8:46 | |
| 4. | "The Way You Look Tonight" (previously released on Live Messengers [BN-LA473-J2]) | Dorothy Fields | Jerome Kern | 9:59 |
| 5. | "Lou's Blues" (previously released on A Night at Birdland Vol. 3 [Toshiba (Japan), BNJ-61002]) | Lou Donaldson | 3:58 | |
| 6. | "Now's the Time" | Charlie Parker | 9:02 | |
| 7. | "Confirmation" | Charlie Parker | 9:12 |
2001 RVG Edition
editVolume 1
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Announcement by Pee Wee Marquette" | 0:58 | ||
| 2. | "Split Kick" | Horace Silver | 8:44 | |
| 3. | "Once in a While" | Bud Green | Michael Edwards | 5:18 |
| 4. | "Quicksilver" | Horace Silver | 6:58 | |
| 5. | "A Night in Tunisia" | Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli | 9:20 | |
| 6. | "Mayreh" | Horace Silver | 6:19 | |
| 7. | "Wee-Dot (alternate take)" (previously released on Live Messengers [BN-LA473-J2]) | J.J. Johnson, Leo Parker | 6:53 | |
| 8. | "Blues (Improvisation)" (previously released on Live Messengers [BN-LA473-J2]) | Traditional | 8:37 | |
| Total length: | 53:07 | |||
Volume 2
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wee Dot" | J.J. Johnson, Leo Parker | 7:19 | |
| 2. | "If I Had You" | Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly | Ted Shapiro | 3:31 |
| 3. | "Quicksilver [alternate master]" | Horace Silver | 8:46 | |
| 4. | "Now's the Time" | Charlie Parker | 9:02 | |
| 5. | "Confirmation" | Charlie Parker | 9:12 | |
| 6. | "The Way You Look Tonight" (previously released on Live Messengers [BN-LA473-J2]) | Dorothy Fields | Jerome Kern | 9:59 |
| 7. | "Lou's Blues" (previously released on A Night at Birdland Vol. 3 [Toshiba (Japan), BNJ-61002]) | Lou Donaldson | 3:58 |
Personnel
editArt Blakey Quintet
edit- Clifford Brown – trumpet
- Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
- Horace Silver – piano
- Curley Russell – bass
- Art Blakey – drums
Technical personnel
editOriginal
edit- Alfred Lion – producer
- Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer, mastering
- Francis Wolff – photography
- Reid Miles, John Hermansader – cover design
- Bob Bluementhal, Leonard Feather – liner notes
Reissue
edit- Michael Cuscuna – producer
- Rudy Van Gelder – 2001 remaster
- Ron McMaster – digital transfers
References
edit- ^ Billboard Jan 5, 1957
- ^ a b A Night at Birdland at Discogs (list of releases)
- ^ A Night at Birdland at Discogs (list of releases)
- ^ a b c Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 124.
- ^ a b Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 25. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ a b Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Jazz (1940–50s) (Reference)". tomhull.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ Michael Fortuna (September 2001). "A Night At Birdland, Vols. 1 and 2". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
- ^ Scott Yanow. "A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ Scott Yanow. "A Night at Birdland, Vol. 2". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ Records, Mosaic (2021-06-09). "Art Blakey & Jazz Messengers A Night At Birdland -". Mosaic Records - Home for Jazz fans!. Retrieved 2021-07-21.