Search - Art Blakey :: Hard Bop & Paris Concert

Pick up this one ahead of the Blue Note "Moanin'" Album

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 06/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You'll find a significantly better deal on this disc if you go to the site of the manufacturer, Collectables (Oldies.com). As for the music, the first half of the program is from a Columbia studio session (ignore the previous reviewer) entitled "Hard Bop," with the omission of one tune--"My Heart Stood Still" (not necessarily a loss, since this was the shrillest tune on an already shrill date foregrounding Jackie McLean's alto). It's searing, well-played but mono-textured bebop, with McLean playing the heads in unison with Bill Hardman's trumpet. Since it's a comparatively rare documentation of this Blakey edition and moreover captures the underrated, underrecorded Bill Hardman, this part of the recording might in itself be considered worth the price of the disc.



The other date, with Benny Golson and Lee Morgan, originally appearing on Epic, is part of a 1958 on-location recording, featuring the same line-up as the popular Blue Note "Moanin'" album. Consider "Paris Concert" a bonus if your Blakey collection is already well-stocked, though "Moanin'" receives a superior work-out here, with both Morgan and Golson in better form than on the original Blue Note album. (In fact, Morgan's solo on "Justice" compares favorably with his amazing solo on the same tune from the Blue Note session, "At the Jazz Corner of the World, Vol. 1.")"