Search - Art Blakey & Jazz Messengers :: Freedom Rider

Great Music, AWFUL transfer!

Nero3000 | Los Angeles, CA USA | 01/27/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Blue Note is to be chastised for this horrible transfer of this classic cd. Listen to tracks 1 and 3 for an example of what I'm talking about. Compared to Wayne Shorters sax solos, Lee Morgan's blistering trumpet solos sound as if they're being played at the far end of some distant wind tunnel. Did Blue Note not notice this discrepency??



This cd is in dire need of a remastered version. Blue Note has ripped us off and owes it to their paying public. Either that or give me back the 15 bucks I paid."

Great music, flawed recording

Grimwig | Bellingham, WA | 08/20/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've played out my original vinyl of this so I got the CD. I consider it one the 3 best of the Messengers, along with Moanin and Mosaic. But the negative reviewer was correct about the CD version. Shorter is way too loud, and Morgan is hard to hear. I don't remember this on the LP, or the many times I heard "Tell It Like It Is" on the radio in the 60's."

Still Riding 45 years Later!

A Minstrel in the Gallery | Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA | 11/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the first Jazz Messengers album I bought several years ago, and I have loved it ever since. Each of the musicians on this album were, of course, masters of their respective instruments, but what is really inspiring about this music is how they interact and meld as one cohesive unit. During the 50s and 60 there were many great individual musicians, but not very many outstanding bands that stayed together for long periods of time. But this was certainly one of them. Lee Morgan was one of the most explosive and innovative horn players in jazz at this time, and Art was one of the genre's best drummers. In "Petty Larceny" you may chuckle as the trumpet and piano mimic each other in a humorous way. My two favorites have to be "Blue Lace" and "Pisces", notable for their odd time-signatures and ample sense of mystery. This album is for anyone who loves, or even has a passing fancy for jazz. You'll find that you'll want to hear more when the last notes of "Blue Ching" fade into oblivion."