Throughout
its existence the Messengers featured some very special line-ups but,
for me, this is the pick of them. The quintessential hard bop quintet
with the front line of Shorter and Morgan = made in heaven. Why this
album sat in the vaults for 20+ years is incomprehensible!
In 1982 I read the review below and rushed out and bought the LP...
Review by Brian Davis, Jazz Journal (UK), April, 1982:
‘Africaine’ is on LT 1088 and is unissued from November 10,1059. This is a bit of a milestone LP in that it was actually Wayne Shorter's recorded debut with the Messengers yet has only now come to light after 21 years! This was one of the classic Blakey line ups: Shorter was already blossoming as a composer (all side 1 are his); his tenor playing then was strongly Coltrane-influenced yet paradoxically did not have the Trane heaviness which later on seemed to creep into Shorter’s work giving it a bleakness. Lee Morgan is here, very young, high-spirited and sassy, with Walter Davis Jr a pianist of the classic be-bop mould directly out of Bud Powell. Jymie Merritt is the bassist who also plays congas**[but see below], very basically, in the obligatory Blakey ‘African’ interlude in the title track， an otherwise excellent Shorter composition with an appealing descending line. Next is the first hearing of Shorter's Lester Left Town recorded five days before the version for RCA in Paris. Side 2 has all Morgan writings, already of considerable merit and not just thrown together studio heads. Haina, an affectionate tribute to Buhaina (Blakey) has some more thunderous African workouts from the boss but also some of the best jazz solos on the album. Another first, The Midget has its recorded debut here, five weeks before the Epic version, again in Paris.Recommended.
‘Africaine’ is on LT 1088 and is unissued from November 10,1059. This is a bit of a milestone LP in that it was actually Wayne Shorter's recorded debut with the Messengers yet has only now come to light after 21 years! This was one of the classic Blakey line ups: Shorter was already blossoming as a composer (all side 1 are his); his tenor playing then was strongly Coltrane-influenced yet paradoxically did not have the Trane heaviness which later on seemed to creep into Shorter’s work giving it a bleakness. Lee Morgan is here, very young, high-spirited and sassy, with Walter Davis Jr a pianist of the classic be-bop mould directly out of Bud Powell. Jymie Merritt is the bassist who also plays congas**[but see below], very basically, in the obligatory Blakey ‘African’ interlude in the title track， an otherwise excellent Shorter composition with an appealing descending line. Next is the first hearing of Shorter's Lester Left Town recorded five days before the version for RCA in Paris. Side 2 has all Morgan writings, already of considerable merit and not just thrown together studio heads. Haina, an affectionate tribute to Buhaina (Blakey) has some more thunderous African workouts from the boss but also some of the best jazz solos on the album. Another first, The Midget has its recorded debut here, five weeks before the Epic version, again in Paris.Recommended.
1. Africaine
2. Lester Left Town
3. Splendid
4. Haina
5. The Midget
6. Celine
Art Blakey (drums)
Lee Morgan (trumpet)
Wayne Shorter (tenor sax)
Walter Davis, Jr. (piano)
Jymie Merritt (bass)
**Dizzy Reece (conga)
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: November 10, 1959
Blue Note LT 1088 [1981] since reissued on CD.
I have the McMaster Connoisseur CD; it has a DR of 10, this LP rip has DR14.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/eqiq0jiwkkngwkl/BlakeyA-a59LP24%257E96.7z/file
ReplyDeleteMy LP>flac 24/96 + scans
thanks Grumpy
ReplyDeleteCan't miss all your's excellent lp rip grumpy THX
ReplyDeleteThanks, Grumpy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, grumpy -- nice to see you're still sharing!
ReplyDelete