At the Cafe Bohemia, Vols. 1 & 2 are a pair of separate but related live albums by the Jazz Messengers recorded at the Café Bohemia jazz club in Greenwich Village on November 23, 1955 and released on Blue Note in April 1956.
| At the Cafe Bohemia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Volume 1 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | Early April 1956[1] | |||
| Recorded | November 23, 1955 | |||
| Venue | Café Bohemia New York City | |||
| Genre | Hard bop | |||
| Length | 41:54 (Vol. 1) 64:48 (Vol. 1 CD reissue) 62:15 (Vol. 2 CD reissue) | |||
| Label | Blue Note BLP 1507 BLP 1508 | |||
| Producer | Alfred Lion | |||
| The Jazz Messengers chronology | ||||
| ||||
| At the Cafe Bohemia | ||||
 Volume 2 | ||||
Background
editRelease history
editWith the July 31, 2001 CD reissues, three additional tracks where added to each volume: "Lady Bird", "Deciphering the Message", and "What's New?" to the first, and "Just One for Those Things", "Hank´s Symphony" and "Gone with the Wind" to the second.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic (Vol. 1) |   [2] |
| AllMusic (Vol. 2) | [3] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz (Vol. 1) |  [4] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz (Vol. 2) | [4] |
The AllMusic reviews called the albums "still timeless music"[5] that have "influenced jazz up to present time".[6]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz noted, while At the Cafe Bohemia didn't "match the intensity which the quintet secured at Birdland", the playing in general "is just as absorbing", calling saxophonist Hank Mobley "a somewhat unfocused stylist" while praising trumpeter Kenny Dorham as an "elusive brilliance [that] was seldom so extensively captured".[4]
Track listing
editCD Reissues
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Announcement by Art Blakey" | 1:32 | |
| 2. | "Soft Winds" | Benny Goodman | 12:34 |
| 3. | "The Theme" | Kenny Dorham | 6:11 |
| 4. | "Minor's Holiday" | Kenny Dorham | 9:11 |
| 5. | "Alone Together" | Arthur Schwartz | 4:15 |
| 6. | "Prince Albert (All The Things You Are)" | Kenny Dorham - Jerome Kern | 8:51 |
| 7. | "Lady Bird" (reissue bonus track) | Tadd Dameron | 7:30 |
| 8. | "What's New?" (reissue bonus track) | Bob Haggart | 4:31 |
| 9. | "Deciphering the Message" (reissue bonus track) | Hank Mobley | 10:13 |
| Total length: | 1:04:48 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Announcement by Art Blakey" | 0:38 | |
| 2. | "Sportin' Crowd" | Hank Mobley | 6:53 |
| 3. | "Like Someone in Love" | 9:18 | |
| 4. | "Yesterdays" | 4:20 | |
| 5. | "Avila and Tequila" | Hank Mobley | 12:47 |
| 6. | "I Waited for You" | 9:47 | |
| 7. | "Just One of Those Things" | Cole Porter | 9:28 |
| 8. | "Hank's Symphony" | Hank Mobley | 4:44 |
| 9. | "Gone with the Wind" | 7:27 | |
| Total length: | 1:02:15 | ||
Personnel
editThe Jazz Messengers
edit- Kenny Dorham – trumpet
- Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone
- Horace Silver – piano
- Doug Watkins – bass
- Art Blakey – drums
Technical personnel
editOriginal
edit- Alfred Lion – producer
- Leonard Feather – liner notes
- John Hermansader – cover design
- Francis Wolff – photography
Reissue
edit- Michael Cuscuna – reissue producer
- Rudy Van Gelder – digital remastering
- Bob Bluementhal – liner notes
References
edit- ^ Billboard Apr 14, 1956
- ^ Nastos, Michael G.. At the Cafe Bohemia at AllMusic
- ^ Nastos, Michael G.. At the Cafe Bohemia at AllMusic
- ^ a b c Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2004). The Penguin Guide to Jazz (7th ed.). Penguin Books. p. 153. ISBN 0-14-101416-4.
- ^ Scott Yanow. "At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1". Retrieved 2006-11-26.
- ^ Scott Yanow. "At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 2". Retrieved 2006-11-26.