At the Cafe Bohemia

At the Cafe Bohemia
Volume 1
Live album by
ReleasedEarly April 1956[1]
RecordedNovember 23, 1955
VenueCafé Bohemia
New York City
GenreHard bop
Length41:54 (Vol. 1)
64:48 (Vol. 1 CD reissue)
62:15 (Vol. 2 CD reissue)
LabelBlue Note
BLP 1507
BLP 1508
ProducerAlfred Lion
The Jazz Messengers chronology
Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers
(1956)
At the Cafe Bohemia
(1956)
The Jazz Messengers
(1956)
At the Cafe Bohemia
Volume 2
Volume 2

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.

Background

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Release history

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With 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

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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

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CD Reissues

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At the Cafe Bohemia, Volume 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Announcement by Art Blakey" 1:32
2."Soft Winds"Benny Goodman12:34
3."The Theme"Kenny Dorham6:11
4."Minor's Holiday"Kenny Dorham9:11
5."Alone Together"Arthur Schwartz4:15
6."Prince Albert (All The Things You Are)"Kenny Dorham - Jerome Kern8:51
7."Lady Bird" (reissue bonus track)Tadd Dameron7:30
8."What's New?" (reissue bonus track)Bob Haggart4:31
9."Deciphering the Message" (reissue bonus track)Hank Mobley10:13
Total length:1:04:48
At the Cafe Bohemia, Volume 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Announcement by Art Blakey" 0:38
2."Sportin' Crowd"Hank Mobley6:53
3."Like Someone in Love"9:18
4."Yesterdays"4:20
5."Avila and Tequila"Hank Mobley12:47
6."I Waited for You"9:47
7."Just One of Those Things"Cole Porter9:28
8."Hank's Symphony"Hank Mobley4:44
9."Gone with the Wind"7:27
Total length:1:02:15

Personnel

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The Jazz Messengers

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Technical personnel

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Original

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Reissue

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References

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  1. ^ Billboard Apr 14, 1956
  2. ^ Nastos, Michael G.. At the Cafe Bohemia at AllMusic
  3. ^ Nastos, Michael G.. At the Cafe Bohemia at AllMusic
  4. ^ a b c Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2004). The Penguin Guide to Jazz (7th ed.). Penguin Books. p. 153. ISBN 0-14-101416-4.
  5. ^ Scott Yanow. "At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1". Retrieved 2006-11-26.
  6. ^ Scott Yanow. "At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 2". Retrieved 2006-11-26.