A Night At Birdland Volume 1 - Art Blakey Quintet (1977) (1LP Vinyl, Japan, Mono) - Near Mint (NM)

Condition: Used

Media Condition: Near Mint (NM)

Sleeve Condition: Near Mint (NM), no OBI

A Night At Birdland Volume 1 by Art Blakey Quintet.

There are certain nights in jazz history that seem to capture lightning, and February 21st, 1954 was one of them. "A Night At Birdland Volume 1" documents the Art Blakey Quintet in full flight before a live audience, delivering the kind of urgent, conversational hard bop that would come to define an era. This is music made in the moment, played by a band that listens as hard as it swings.

The front line alone is enough to make this a landmark. Clifford Brown brings his warm, gleaming trumpet, a voice cut tragically short in the years that followed but here brimming with invention and joy. Alongside him, Lou Donaldson's alto saxophone sings with that bluesy, singing tone that made him such a distinctive voice, and the two horns trade and blend across the set with easy chemistry.

Behind them sits a rhythm section that needs no introduction. Art Blakey drives everything forward on drums, all propulsion and fire, while Horace Silver's piano lays down the funky, gospel tinged phrasing that would soon shape the whole hard bop movement. Curly Russell anchors it all on double bass, holding the center as the soloists reach and stretch.

The program moves through five performances, opening with the brisk "Split Kick" before easing into the ballad glow of "Once In A While." "Quicksilver" closes the first side with real velocity, and the second side offers the smoldering, unmistakable "A Night In Tunisia" followed by "Mayreh." Across the set you hear a band that understands both tension and release, playing to a crowd and feeding off its energy.

The recording itself carries the signature of Rudy Van Gelder, whose work behind the tape captured the immediacy of the room and the clarity of each instrument. First issued in 1956 as BLP 1521, the album also boasts the visual language that made Blue Note iconic, with cover design by Reid Miles and photography by Francis Wolff. Liner notes come courtesy of Leonard Feather and Teruo Isono, adding context to the evening's music.

This is a Japanese pressing, made in Japan, with stamped runouts in the dead wax. For collectors, it represents a chance to own one of the essential live documents of the hard bop tradition, a snapshot of extraordinary musicians at a pivotal moment. Few records capture the sound of a great band discovering itself in real time quite like this one does, and it remains as thrilling to hear today as it must have been to witness from a table at Birdland.

Pressing Details:
Track Listing:
A1. Split Kick
A2. Once In A While
A3. Quicksilver
B1. A Night In Tunisia
B2. Mayreh

Credits:
Lou Donaldson - Alto Saxophone [Alto Sax]
Reid Miles - Design [Cover]
Curly Russell - Double Bass [Bass]
Art Blakey - Drums
Leonard Feather - Liner Notes
Teruo Isono - Liner Notes
Francis Wolff - Photography By [Photo]
Horace Silver - Piano
Rudy Van Gelder - Recorded By [Recording By]
Clifford Brown - Trumpet

Notes:
Recorded live on February 21st, 1954. Originally released in 1956 as BLP 1521.

Rear cover:
Made in Japan

Runouts are stamped.

Artist: Art Blakey Quintet

Format: 1LP

Genre: Jazz

Label: Blue Note

Catalog Number: GXF 3003(M)

Release Year: 1977

Country: Japan