BNJ-61002

Art Blakey Quintet - A Night At Birdland, Volume 3

Released - June 21,1984

Recording and Session Information

"Birdland", NYC, 1st set, February 21, 1954
Clifford Brown, trumpet; Lou Donaldson, alto sax; Horace Silver, piano; Curly Russell, bass; Art Blakey, drums; Pee Wee Marquette, announcer.

tk.1 Wee-Dot (alternate take)

"Birdland", NYC, 3rd set, February 21, 1954
Clifford Brown, trumpet; Lou Donaldson, alto sax; Horace Silver, piano; Curly Russell, bass; Art Blakey, drums; Pee Wee Marquette, announcer.

tk.10 Lou's Blues

"Birdland", NYC, 5th set, February 21, 1954
Clifford Brown, trumpet; Lou Donaldson, alto sax; Horace Silver, piano; Curly Russell, bass; Art Blakey, drums; Pee Wee Marquette, announcer.

tk.15 Blues (Improvisation)
tk.16 The Way You Look Tonight

See Also: BLP 1521, BLP 1522, BN-LA-473-J2

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Wee-Dot (Alternate Master)	J.J. Johnson-Leo Parker	February 21 1954
Blues (Improvisation)		February 21 1954
Side Two
The Way You Look Tonight	Kern-Fields	February 21 1954
Lou's Blues	Lou Donaldson	February 21 1954

Liner Notes

Inspired by Chick Webb, Art Blakey began as a powerful and musical big band drummer with Fletcher Henderson and Billy Eckstine. The Eckstine band was, of course, the incubator of be-bop and Art was its master. He brought his own style and dynamics to a school of drumming first defined by Kenny Clarke. By 1947, he was making his own date for Blue Note and powering Thelonious Monk's first record dates.

Alfred Lion in those years was immediately taken by Blakey's richness, soul and strength and would travel to various clubs specifically to catch the drummer. Blakey became a Blue Note regular. But his next opportunity to record did not come until the night of February 21, 1954 with a live session at Birdland. He had organised a band with Clifford Brown, Lou Donaldson, Horace Silver and Curly Russell. On other occasions Joe Gordon would play trumpet. According to Horace, this was intended to be a working band, but work was too scarce and the ensemble faded away.

Fortunately, thanks to Lion, it faded away with a secure place in history. Blue Note issued three 10" lps of the music from that night. Later adding an alternate take of Quicksilver, the company issued two volumes on 12" albums (BLP1521 and BLP1522). In the mid-seventies, this writer had occasion to explore the Blue Note vaults and came up with three more tracks, then issued on a US double album with sixties Blakey material. With the addition of the previously unheard Lou's Blues that material is now available herein as volume three of that magic night.

This alternate take of Wee-Dot, a fast blues by J.J. Johnson and Leo Parker, is every bit as exciting and inventive as the first selected for issue. Clifford Brown is especially brilliant, the wat he fashions an intelligent, cogent solo. Typically, Blakey controls the dynamics and provides the fire that spur these men to great statements.

The relaxed, improvised Blues is traditional in form and hints often at the melodies and flavor of Percy Mayfield's best songs. This is Lou Donaldson's finest metier and he turns in a masterful performance, as does the equally soulful Horace Silver.

The Way You Look Tonight is treated to a clever arrangement. Lou plays the song's melody while Brown plays Can't Help Lovin' That Man Of Mine under him as a countermelody. Both songs are from the pen of Jerome Kern. This is a cooker on which everyone is allowed to stretch out, including the drummer.

Released here for the first time, Lou's Blues, a tune which the saxophonist first recorded for Blue Note in 1952. In fact, Silver was the pianist on that version, too. It is an exciting rapid-fire blues, but these men don't just lay into the changes and spew a few thousand automatic notes. They're thinking and creating, even at this tempo. Since the tape machine ran out at the very end of the song as the last note decays, it was necessary to fade the ending. This may indeed have been the reason that it was not included in the initial release.

With these four tunes and the ten on BLP1521 and BLP1522, the entire releasable output of this special occasion is now available.

As mentioned earlier, this band found little employment and drifted apart. By summer, Clifford Brown would move to California and form an historic alliance with Max Roach. Lou Donaldson would continue to freelance in jazz and R & B until 1956 when he could form his first regular working band. Curly Russell continued to play with everyone in town. Horace Silver and Art Blakey worked on many record dates together that year.

One of those dates was a Horace Silver quintet session in November with Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley and Doug Watkins. Within months the co-operative Jazz Messengers were born. Their premise was to present modern, but earthy jazz in a well rehearsed and professional manner. They set the standards for hard bop and spawned a string of great ensembles led by Art and Horace.

This special night at Birdland provides the first documented seeds of that movement. The rare presence of Clifford Brown adds all the more significance to these recordings.

- MICHAEL CUSCUNA

Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF
Cover Design by REID K. MILES
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER

LOU'S BLUES is previously unissued. All other titles in Volume 3 are previously issued on Blue Note BN-LA-473-J2