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A Night at Birdland
Volume 1
Live album by
the Art Blakey Quintet
ReleasedJuly 1954 (Volume 1)
October 1954 (Volume 2)
November 1954 (Volume 3)
RecordedFebruary 21, 1954
Venue Birdland
New York City
Genre Hard bop
Length21:58 (Volume 1)
22:58 (Volume 2)
21:45 (Volume 3)
Label Blue Note
BLP 5037 (Vol. 1)
BLP 5038 (Vol. 2)
BLP 5039 (Vol. 3)
Producer Alfred Lion
The Art Blakey Quintet chronology
New Sounds
(1952) 		A Night at Birdland
(1954) 		Blakey
(1954)
A Night at Birdland
A Night at Birdland

A Night at Birdland, Vols. 1–3 are three separate but related 10" LPs by the Art Blakey Quintet recorded live at the Birdland jazz club on February 21, 1954, and released on Blue Note later that year, in July, October and November respectively. The quintet features horn section Clifford Brown and Lou Donaldson and rhythm section Horace Silver, Curly Russell and Blakey.

Background

Recording

The recording was produced by Alfred Lion and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder for Blue Note. The reissues were produced by Michael Cuscuna.

They are considered some of the earliest hard bop recordings.[ citation needed]

Release history

After Blue Note discontinued their 10" series, A Night at Birdland was recompiled on two 12" LPs and given new artwork. A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 (BLP 2037) was put on Side A of Volume 1 (BLP 1521) backed with two tracks of the three tracks from A Night at Birdland, Vol. 2 (BLP 2038) ("Mayreh" and " A Night in Tunisia"), with Volume 2 (BLP 1522) comprising A Night at Birdland, Vol. 3 (BLP 2039), "Wee-Dot" and an alternate take of "Quicksilver."

The complete recordings weren't available commercially until 1984 when the remaining four tracks were released in Japan by Toshiba as A Night at Birdland, Vol. 3 and the whole concert was released as part of the Complete Blue Note and Pacific Jazz Recordings of Clifford Brown box set, before being released on the CD reissues of the twelve-inches three years later.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
AllMusic [2]
AllMusic [3]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz put the recording in their "core collection."

A reviewer for allaboutjazz.com said simply that "Blakey and company had clicked that night at Birdland." [4]

AllMusic mentions that, on this first album, "all of the participants [are] in inspired form. Classic bop." [5]

Bob Blumenthal, renowned hard-bop writer, refers to this as a historical jazz milestone. [6]

Track listing

A Night at Birdland, Volume 1

Side 1
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Announcement by Pee Wee Marquette" 0:58
2."Split Kick" Horace Silver8:44
Total length:9:42
Side 2
No.TitleMusicLength
1." Once in a While"
5:18
2."Quicksilver"Horace Silver6:58
Total length:12:16 21:58

A Night at Birdland, Volume 2

Side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wee-Dot"
7:19
2."Mayreh" Horace Silver6:19
Total length:13:38
Side 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
3." A Night in Tunisia"
9:20
Total length:9:20 22:58

A Night at Birdland, Volume 3

Side 1
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Now's the Time" Charlie Parker9:02
2." If I Had You"
3:31
Total length:12:33
Side 2
No.TitleMusicLength
3." Confirmation"Charlie Parker9:12
Total length:9:12 21:45

Personnel

Art Blakey Quintet

Technical personnel

References

  1. ^ Art Blakey Quintet, Art Blakey - A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 2024-01-09
  2. ^ Art Blakey Quintet, Art Blakey - A Night at Birdland, Vol. 2 Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 2024-01-09
  3. ^ Art Blakey - A Night at Birdland, Vol. 3 Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 2024-01-09
  4. ^ Michael Fortuna (September 2001). "A Night At Birdland, Vols. 1 and 2". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  5. ^ Scott Yanow. "A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  6. ^ Records, Mosaic (2021-06-09). "Art Blakey & Jazz Messengers A Night At Birdland -". Mosaic Records - Home for Jazz fans!. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  7. ^ A Night at Birdland, Vols. 1–3 at Discogs (list of releases)
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