Jazz at the Blackhawk [Live]

1. Bill B.

2. Land's End

3. I'll Remember April

4. Blues in the Night

5. Thinking of You, MJQ

6. I've Never Been in Love Before

7. Two for Blues Suite

8. When the Sun Comes Out

9. Lover, Come Back to Me

Jazz at the Blackhawk,Cal Tjader Quartet,Ojc,Afro-Cuban Jazz,Bop,Cool,Jazz,Jazz Music,Latin Jazz,Pop,Post-Bop,United States of America

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In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete
Average customer rating:

Goodnights.

ONLY ONE WORD: MAGIC

Mobley and Kelly play above themselves

Let The Music Do The Talking

Get in your time machine, close the door, and shut your eyes....

In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete
Miles Davis
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Miles in the Sky

ASIN: B00009KU7L
Release Date: 2003-06-03

Tracks:

Oleo
No Blues
Bye Bye (Theme)
If I Were A Bell
Fran Dance
On Green Dolphin Street
The Theme

Tracks:

All Of You
Neo
I Thought About You
Bye Bye Blackbird
Walkin'
Love, I Found You

Tracks:

If I were A Bell
So What
No BLues
On Green Dolphin Street
Walkin'
'Round Midnight
Well You Needn't
The Theme

Tracks:

Autumn Leaves
Neo
Two Bass Hit
Bye Bye (Theme)
Love, I've Found You
I Thought About You
Someday My Prince Will Come
Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

Amazon.com

It doesn't get much better than this: a full night of Miles Davis captured live in his prime at an intimate jazz club. In 1961, Davis, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, and drummer Jimmy Cobb recorded at San Francisco's legendary Blackhawk. Originally released as two LPs, the complete sets, with nine previously unissued tracks, have been compiled in this superb, digitally-remastered, two-CD set. Davis's pithy and poetic trumpet tones signature a number of standards and original compositions. Backed by Kelly's in-the-pocket pianisms, Cobb's articulate drumwork, Chamber's intelligent basslines, and Mobley's Dexter Gordon-ish sax tones, Davis bares his wounded and wonderful musical soul to an engaging and enthralled audience. The elongated and illuminated renditions of the quicksilver modal number "So What," the dancing "On Green Dolphin Street," and the Latin-tinged "Neo" bridge the 1959 masterpiece LP Kind of Blue and the forthcoming '60s superband with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. The scene-stealer on this date is Mobley. His ebullient tone and sterling improvisations remind us of Miles Davis's equally impressive talents and a bandleader. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Album Description

Full title - In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete. Miles' April 21-22, 1961 stint at San Francisco's fabled Blackhawk nightclub was previously documented on a 2 LP set, but now all four sets from those two nights are available on this expanded 4-CD set, which includes no less than 13 previously unreleased selections! Remember, this is the sublime quintet line-up of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb and hank Mobley, performing such Davis classics as 'So What,' 'Walkin',' 'On Green Dolphin Street', 'Someday My Prince Will Come' and more. Original liner notes by Ralph Gleason together with updated notes by trumpeter Eddie Henderson & rare photos of all the musicians round out one of the jazz reissues of the year! Features 29 24-bit digitally remastered tracks. Two standard jewel cases housed in a deluxe slipbox. Columbia Records. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Goodnights........2007-05-19

This is a very good purchase for fans of Miles Davis and the sound of that time. It is a double album but many of the tracks are redundant. If you like the live format, and are interested in these particular performers, this is a
"must have" album.

ONLY ONE WORD: MAGIC.......2007-02-03

First, sorry for my english. If you close your eyes , you can feel the ambiance of the Blackhawk.
Great the rythim section, Winton Kelly is the third leader. Hank Mobley is one of my favourites, but we can understand the legend of champions of middleweight's tenors. His sound i't's so sweat, don't have the power of Gordon, Coltrane, Shorter. And Miles, it's Miles, that's it's enough.
I recomand listen every record two o three times, every time put your attention in a different instrument of the song.

Mobley and Kelly play above themselves.......2006-12-01

I've known every note of the Friday Night version of "On Green Dolphin Street" since I was 15 years old -- except for the first part of Hank Mobley's solo, which was edited out for the Columbia anthology I bought. As I got to know the works of Miles Davis, I quickly realized that the song was recorded at the Blackhawk, but reissue after reissue left it out, and I cursed Columbia Records for being a bunch of idiots. But here it is, with Mobley's entire solo included, along with many other riches whose value will depend on the listener. For me, both versions of "If I were a Bell" are spectacular examples of a happiness one doesn't expect from Miles Davis (indeed, his last few notes on the Friday night version are suddenly sad, which makes a beautiful coda to the performance). The Saturday night version of "On Green Dolphin Street" is more mellow and less inspired, but the Friday version makes up for that. There is an almost menacing quality to the melody and to Miles Davis's solo, worlds apart from the luminous version recorded with Coltrane and Adderley and Bill Evans in 1958.
Above all, Hank Mobley and Wynton Kelly reached the peak of their careers that weekend. They were never as good before or after, and that is the doing of Miles Davis, who has been justly called the greatest LEADER in modern jazz. He goaded his musicians to play above themselves, and this is the prime example. For me, the best soloist on all four CDs is Kelly, who plays with a joy and confidence that are the hallmark of the set.

Let The Music Do The Talking.......2006-11-24

With the classic cover photo from the original 2-lp set intact, the four sets covering two nights at the legendary Blackhawk nightclub in San Francisco shows the potential of re-releasing live material by allowing the unedited tapes to let the music take the listener to great heights through a group that briefly backed Miles.

The April 21-22, 1961, gigs featured what some critics deemed a transitional band of Wynton Kelly (p), Paul Chambers (b), Jimmy Cobb (d) and Hank Mobley (sax). Because the group followed the quintet with John Coltrane and preceeded the historical sessions with Wayne Shorter, the ensemble - in my opinion - does not get the acclaim it truly deserves.

To hear the sets without any editing shows how each song builds upon one another and subtly shape into a dynamic that truly makes for an experience of a lifetime on stage and in the audience. The leadership and playing of Miles is nothing short of spectacular as he pushes each musician to quickly create beautiful textures on a majestic tapestry.

It is not the time a group is together, but what each member does with the studio sessions and on stage, that defines brilliance. The Blackhawk sets are a reminder of the power Miles had in challenging musicians and the audience to redefine the art of jazz.

Get in your time machine, close the door, and shut your eyes...........2006-11-10

I'm going to make this short: buy this album--you won't regret it! Instead of studio re-takes, overdubs and an altered order of songs like you get with most live recordings, this is the way it went down that evening in 1961. And you are THERE, at a table near the stage, at the Blackhawk club as the players stroll out, set up the first song, count it in and blass off. Each of the four sets unfolds exactly as it happened that night---completely unedited. Miles in charge, as always, expecting the very best tonight from pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. And they repond, launching themselves higher and higher, through the stratosphere, up into the ether where Miles hangs out, circling him, trading punches with him, diving ducking and weaving with him. No one knows what's going to happen next-this is live jazz--live without a net. You can almost feel the chemistry between the players. Close your eyes and put on the headphones if you really want to get there. And hang on!

Average customer rating:

This is a Gem
Shelly, we miss you
Cool Jazz Defined
Shelly Manne & His Men At The Blackhawk Vol.1-5
collect all 5!

At the Blackhawk, Vol. 1
Shelly Manne & His Men
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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At the Blackhawk, Vol. 2
At the Blackhawk, Vol. 3
At the Blackhawk, Vol. 4
At the Blackhawk, Vol. 5
At the Manne-Hole, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000000YVE
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Summertime
Our Delight
Poinciana
Blue Daniel
Blue Daniel
Theme: A Gem From Tiffany

Customer Reviews:

This is a Gem.......2007-05-31

If you haven't heard of this guy pick up this disc and you will start collecting the other volumes. This is just a moment where a band clicks and someone (apparently Manne himself) is wise enough to get the equipment in and record it. I don't know how many versions of Summertime I have heard but when you hear this one as the opener to the collection you will find that it eclipses all the others. Just plain great jazz and a must buy!

Shelly, we miss you.......2006-03-01

I purchased this and the other volumes of Live at the Blackhawk when they first were released on Contemporary Records, and those copies have long since worn out. Shelly Manne was one of the best and most influential drummers in the "West Coast" modern jazz idiom, and this band and these live recordings are proof of that. In addition to Shelly's consumate skill as accompanist and occasional soloist, Richie Kamuca and especially Victor Feldman shine as solo voices. Shelly is heard announcing many of the tunes and introducing the band, the sound is very intimate, and the recording has great historical significance as an example of the wonderful but often underappreciated music that was produced by musicians on the "left coast", many alumnae of the Stan Kenton and Woody Herman bands of the fifties.

Cool Jazz Defined.......2005-01-21

Like all great music (e.g., Bill Evans Live at the Village Vanguard, Kind of Blue), these 5 CDs sound simple. Don't be fooled: it's the sound of mastery. A great band at the height of its expression. Buy one, two, or five. It's all good.

Shelly Manne & His Men At The Blackhawk Vol.1-5.......2002-05-08

Twenty years ago I was in this little record store on the South Side of Chicago looking for music. I found magic. The old men there were listening to "I Am In Love" from Volume 3 of this 5 Volume set which was recorded live in 1959. It changed my life. I brought the album on the spot. This was jazz that I could follow. It starts from a point, takes you on a magical journey,and then brings you back. If you want to hear some "real smooth-jazz" then this is it. The live recordings are done so well, you can almost smell the booze and cigarettes. If you're
interested in jazz at it's best listen to Vol.3 enough said.

collect all 5!.......2001-12-21

If you don't think a drummer can make a group, listen to this cd. Everyone in the band is really hip, but Shelly's the one that makes this band a knockout. It is his band, but he doesn't get in the way with theatrics or bombastic playing, he just propels the band to new heights with every chorus. I think the guys could have taken shorter choruses, but when a band swings as hard as this one, it doesn't matter.

Tracks:

I Am In Love
Whisper Not
Black Hawk Blues
Whisper Not

Customer Reviews:

More Classic Live West Coast Jazz.......2000-07-30

Of the five volumes of Shelly Manne's "At The Blackhawk," Volume 3 is the most laidback. The gorgeous "Am In Love" leads off the album, followed by the smooth call and response from Richie Kamuca (tenor sax) and Joe Gordon (trumpet) on "Whisper Not." The lengthy, soulful tribute to the San Francisco club "Black Hawk Blues" completes the album. The CD adds an excellent alternate take of "Whipser Not." As with the other Blackhawk volumes, the band rules, the sound is incerdible and the atmosphere is unparalleled. Any serious jazz fan should get all five of these live recordings. You won't be dissappointed.

Average customer rating:

And Even More Classic Live West Coast Jazz

At the Blackhawk, Vol. 4
Shelly Manne & His Men
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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At the Blackhawk, Vol. 5
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At the Blackhawk, Vol. 2
At the Blackhawk, Vol. 1
At the Manne-Hole, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000000YVH
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Cabu
Just Squeeze Me
Nightingale
Theme: A Gem From Tiffany
Cabu (Alternate Version-Previously Unissued)

Customer Reviews:

And Even More Classic Live West Coast Jazz.......2000-07-30

If Volume 3 of Shelly Manne's "At The Blackhawk" albums is the most relaxed and laidbackof the recordings, then Volume 4 is the most fiery and groovin'. The CD opens with the hard-swingin' "Cabu" followed by the simmering, sentimental "Just Squeeze Me," which contains one of Victor Feldman's greatest piano solos. Don't let the title of "Nightingale" fool you, this song is "A Night In Tunisia" like thriller. Of course the album concludes with the band's theme (as it does on Volumes 1 & 2), and a first rate alternate version of "Cabu." As with the other volumes, the band, sound, and ambiance all come together to paint a classic picture of great West Coast jazz.

Average customer rating:

Definitive live jazz
This is Jazz
The Epitome Of West Coast Jazz

At the Blackhawk, Vol. 2
Shelly Manne & His Men
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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At the Blackhawk, Vol. 5
At the Manne-Hole, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000000YVF
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Step Lightly
What's New
Vamp's Blues
Step Lightly (Alternate Version/Previously Unissued)
Theme: A Gem From Tiffany

Customer Reviews:

Definitive live jazz.......2001-11-08

The multiple-volume _Live at the Blackhawk_ set is one of the classic live dates of the 1950s. West Coast jazz has been usually unfairly denigrated in the annals of jazz, as being too buttoned-down & superficial, in comparison with the increasingly aggressive & blunt hard bop of the East Coast of the time. A listen to any of the albums in this series will quickly dispose of such stereotypes. Manne usefully avoids the jauntiness & bounciness that sometimes beset West Coast jazz: these performances are relaxed but intensely bluesy at the core. This volume includes only three tunes, Benny Golson's classic "Step Lightly" (two takes are given, of which the 2nd, unreleased take is notably faster), a medium-up "What's New" which builds in excitement peerlessly over 13 minutes, & a strutting blues by Charlie Mariano, "Vamp's Blues" which took up an entire side of the original LP. ("A Gem from Tiffany" is merely the band's signoff at the end, just a 15 second coda to the disc.)

The band is a fine one. Richie Kamuca has never got the attention he deserved, but he is a tenor player fully the equal of Harold Land, Teddy Edwards or JR Monterose, his West Coast peers. His elegant lines & foggy Lestorian tone recall his East Coast contemporary Hank Mobley. Joe Gordon was one of the finest trumpeters of his generation (& died tragically young), with a charmingly tart tone which frequently has the quality of speech. The British ex-pat Victor Feldman is a notably subtle pianist (who was briefly in Miles Davis's band in the 1960s just before Herbie Hancock, & the association of the two pianists isn't coincidence, as Miles was at the time looking for more colouristic approaches to harmony than were to be found in bop piano). Monty Budwig & Shelly Manne make a rhythm section at once subtle & yet irresistably swinging. Manne was, perhaps rarely for a drummer of his generation, very much attuned to colour & pure sound rather than just dropping bombs. He's always worth listening to, whatever anyone else in the band is doing.

Classic jazz--recorded in 1959, it sums up the decade of jazz just before the wrenching innovations of the 1960s. Manne, of course, was already aware of the coming revolution, having played on one of Ornette Coleman's earliest recording dates....

This is Jazz.......2001-01-06

I usually only write reviews for [new] selections yet these five CDs are exceptions. For me, this is the sound of jazz. This is the sound of a smoky club filled with the buzz of conversation and the soaring song of five cats wailing. This is jazz. This is the sound that comes when five people become one ensemble and no one individual dominates because there are no individuals. This is the quintessential jazz quintet: trumpet, tenor sax, piano, bass, and drums. There's a vibe here that's unbeatable whether it's uptempo, downtempo, a standard, rhythm changes, or the blues. Am I saying that this group is better than the Hot Fives and Sevens, the Charlie Parker Sextet, the Miles Davis Quintet, Coltrane's Quartet, the Jazz Messengers, or any of those now legendary groups? Of course not. But I am saying that this is "the" recording. This is the one in which it was all captured perfectly: jazz was still in full swing and definitely still hip; bebop had cooled and formed a rock-solid crystal; and the recording process had reached that wonderful stage of finally ironing out all the pops and cracks. The sound is relaxed: these guys aren't experimenting; they're just in the groove. But what a groove that is. These five albums do what jazz does best: communicate. And you're right there with them, listening to what they've got say. And, does it sound good.

The Epitome Of West Coast Jazz.......2000-07-23

I first got into jazz in high school when I decided to listen to some of my step-father's old records. His tastes are somewhat commercial and there were plenty of jazz albums from the 70s with strings and electric bass. But there was also the four volumes of Shelly Manne's "At The Blackhawk." I now own over 1000 jazz CDs, and these "commercial" jazz albums are still among the best I own. Perfection is the word that best describes Volume 2. Three classic standards, and a brief catchy concluding "theme," performed impeccably by a band that are household names only in their own households. But these cats just know how to swing -- Joe Gordon's crisp trumpet lines, Richie Kamuca's soulful tenor sax, Victor Feldman's bright piano, Monty Budwig' rich bass, and the old master propeller himself, Shelly Manne. The whipped cream and cherry to top this sundae of an album off is the crystal clear live sound. Even the Blackhawk's phone ringing in the background sounds perfect. By the way, that's me on the telephone, calling back in time to the club, begging to get a table for the next show!

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Shy Manne!
Yummy Leftovers for Dinner

At the Blackhawk, Vol. 5
Shelly Manne & His Men
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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At the Manne-Hole, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000000YVI
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

How Deep Are The Roots
This Is Always
Wonder Why (Trio)
Eclipse Of Spain
Pullin' Strings
Theme: A Gem From Tiffany

Customer Reviews:

Shy Manne!.......2003-06-24

This album is great. The first track, how Deep are the Roots swings, and so does, Theme from A Gem From Tiffany. This album is good, but lacks one major ingrediant. Manne never takes a solo. I'm a drummer, and I look for that sort of stuff. How Deep are the Roots, and Wonder Why shore could have got drum solos. The horns were great though. I guess Manne was shy that night. He's my favorite drummer, and I like to see or hear him solo every once in a while. He's great on Sonny Rollins's Way Out West.
C.M. Covais

Yummy Leftovers for Dinner.......2000-07-30

When Shelly Manne's "At The Blackhawk" recordings were originally issued on vinyl, there were only four volumes. But in the era of CDs, labels have culled their vaults for additional material to beef up their reissues of classic recordings. There must have been plenty of leftover material from the Blackhawk sessions, because not only are their numerous alternate takes scattered among the original four volumes, but their was enough leftover for an entire 50 minute plus "Volume 5." And this is not mom's gross meatloaf leftovers, we're talking the filet mignon you couldn't finish at the five-star restuarant leftovers! These six tracks, heard no where else on the other four volumes, are just as good performance-wise and soundwise, as the classic material on Volumes 1-4. Of particular interest to me are a trio version of "Wonder Why" and the complete version of "A Gem from Tiffany," heard on the end of volumes 1, 2 & 4 as only a concluding morsel. If only all "previously unreleased material" were this good!

In Person Saturday Night at the Blackhawk, Complete, Vol. 2

Average customer rating:

AMG Review
My 2 cents on the re-mastered sound
Remastered? Really?

In Person Saturday Night at the Blackhawk, Complete, Vol. 2
Miles Davis
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Seven Steps to Heaven
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Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall

ASIN: B00009KU7E
Release Date: 2003-06-03

Tracks:

If I Were A Bell
So What
No Blues
On Green Dolphin Street
Walkin'
'Round Midnight
Well You Needn't
The Theme

Tracks:

Autumn Leaves
Neo
Two Bass Hit
Bye Bye (Theme)
Love, I've Found You
I Thought About You
Someday My Prince Will Come
Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

Customer Reviews:

AMG Review.......2007-02-24

The second volume in the (finally) complete recordings from Miles Davis' legendary two-night stand at the Blackhawk in 1961 with his new quintet -- which featured Hank Mobley, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb -- is as stunning as the first. While this set has been available in many different configurations in the U.S. and Japan over the years, it has never been complete until now. In Person Saturday Night at the Blackhawk features no less than nine unreleased performances -- including an unprecedented fourth set on two CDs. The groove is quite different on Saturday evening. Rather than the slashing bop of Sonny Rollins' "Oleo" from Friday, a loping, bluesed-out version of "If I Were a Bell" opens the program. Kelly's interplay with Davis here is enlightening and inspiring; his comps and fills dance around the trumpeter's solo without ever punching through its center. His sense of timing is remarkable in how he anticipates the end of Miles' lines. He shifts gears with Mobley, who is in a speedier Coleman Hawkins mood here and pushes the middle harder, more percussively, as Mobley then plays all around the changes. This gives way to an unbelievably speedy "So What," clocking in at over 12 minutes and driven by Chambers' pizzicato bass playing. Davis' solo in the first few choruses is more reminiscent of his tenure with Charlie Parker than anything of his own, except for the warmer tone. The tune is an odyssey of harmonic invention with Kelly acting as a bridge between Davis and Mobley, offering wide-open sevenths and diminished fifths for each player to wander in and out of. Kelly's solo comes right out of the blues, pure and angular; his touch is heavier -- deep left-hand accents and trills decorate it.

The second set's "On Green Dolphin Street" nearly segues into an unreleased, burning version of "Walkin'" at almost double tempo. Miles' intensity here is truly shocking. He drives this band -- a listen to Cobb's timekeeping on "Walkin'" reveals just how hard this band was striding these blues. After 12 minutes of blinding speed and melodic invention, the complex harmonic architecture is resolved through intricate line interplay between Davis and Kelly and Mobley at about five minutes and 30 seconds into the tune, and it slips into a space where struggle ceases and the blinding tempo becomes pure grooveology. Davis throws the crowd -- and the band, judging by a missed cue -- a changeup by slipping into a nearly modal, front-end "'Round Midnight." This one swings easily and sweetly, a bit faster than any Miles band had played it ever before, but far slower than anything else in the first set. And as if this weren't enough of a Monk switch, the band closes out the set with a blazing "Well, You Needn't" before the band's theme takes it out for intermission. Tracks three and four on disc two are characterized by a heretofore unissued "Autumn Leaves" (which starts a few seconds in because the tape recorder wasn't on in the club -- it's not an edit). An easy, swinging, sprightly version of this chestnut is so relaxed and free that Davis and his mute feel free to stretch his own short notes into longer lines. Chambers' "Two Bass Hit" is played at a blistering tempo, with Cobb double-timing an already overdriven ensemble. Set four is late-night Miles; the band moves through three tunes as encores, seemingly -- gorgeous lyrical balladry with Davis opening up large spaces in the middle for Chambers to become the focal point of the rhythm section. The tunes "I Thought About You" and "Someday My Prince Will Come" swing with easy late-night grace and charm. Chambers' insistent one-note pulse is contrasted by Kelly's whimsical opening solo before the verse. Miles takes it in relaxed mode, allowing the tune to unfold rather than be played. As if unwilling to let the audience off easy, the end of set four closes out with another surprise, a shifty, double-tempo read of "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise" that becomes a hard bop blues before it ends abruptly, leaving the house in shambles. How this last set was never released before is beyond belief; thank goodness this historic document has finally been assembled in its entirety. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

My 2 cents on the re-mastered sound.......2006-03-01

Nothing to add about the organic music-making presented here. But I would like to comment on the newly remastered sound, which might invite some controversy.

I own both the original CD releases and this remastered 4-CD box set of the same performances. The sound in original CDs is brighter and more natural. I sense when they were issuing them for the first time as CDs, they added slight amount of ambience to the original source, which is dry and closely mic'ed just like any other live recording.
The new remastered sound has no ambience whatsoever, which makes the dry sonic even more prominent. But it carries more punch, edge, and clarity. Not that original releases severely lack these qualities but the new mastering just contains a lot more raw power. But it comes at the cost of revealing the flaws of the sources (microphone distortion - especially piano; breathing noise; etc). But hey, many might think they are all part of the gig.
If you have a receiver that gives you presets with difference ambience settings (e.g., Hall, Club, Stadium, etc), use it to cure the dryness. My Yamaha receiver has a preset called Jazz Club, which puts me right in Blackhawk club!

Remastered? Really?.......2005-12-10

Sorry: I have not heard the quality of the earlier CD releases of these Blackhawk sets, but having recently bought a bucket load of remastered Miles Davis albums (all glorious and fantastic quality) I can only suggest something went wrong with this one. My Mark Levinson 390S is turned up louder than ever before just to get a decent earful. Sounds lousy, Mr. Mark Wilder of Sony Music Studios New York. Suggest checking these discs out before you buy.

P.S After listening to the quality of Monk and Coltrane from Carnegie Hall in 1957 please don't tell me the problem is the venue!

In Person Friday Night at the Blackhawk, Complete, Vol. 1

Average customer rating:

My 2 cents on the re-mastered sound

In Person Friday Night at the Blackhawk, Complete, Vol. 1
Miles Davis
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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In Person Saturday Night at the Blackhawk, Complete, Vol. 2
Moanin'
Kind of Blue
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House, M.D. - Season Two

ASIN: B00009KU7D
Release Date: 2003-06-03

Tracks:

Oleo
No Blues
Bye Bye (Theme)
If I Were A Bell
Franc Dance
On Green Dolphin Street
The Theme

Tracks:

All Of You
Neo
I Thought About You
Bye Bye Blackbird
Walkin'
Love, I've Found You

Customer Reviews:

My 2 cents on the re-mastered sound.......2006-03-01

Average customer rating:

Great Music; Lousy Digital Transfer
Excellent Cool Jazz
A studio recording done in a live setting
Tjader & Guaraldi jazz before the Brazilian period- dynamite

Jazz at the Blackhawk
Cal Tjader Quartet
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Latin Kick
Monterey Concerts
Cal Tjader's Latin Concert
Mambo with Tjader
La Onda Va Bien

ASIN: B000000YO3
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Bill B.
Land's End
I'll Remember April
Blues In The Night
Thinking Of You, MJQ
I've Never Been In Love Before
Two For Blues Suite
When The Sun Comes Out
Lover, Come Back To Me

Customer Reviews:

Great Music; Lousy Digital Transfer.......2006-10-23

This is perhaps Cal and Vince's best music on record. And if you find a vinyl copy of this, new or old pressing, (mono is best) grab it. Unfortunately when he reached the point of transferring this from analogue to digital, Phil Lancie grabbed a mono tape and split it creating a muddled stereo transfer. Big goof was created. Consequently, one hears the group only through right speaker and an echo of same through the left. It's mud. Check out your buddie's vinyl of this. It is music made in heaven at the Blackhawk. The titles Land's End, When the Sun Comes Out, and the tribute to MJQ are so fine and you'll groove on Lover Come Back to Me. Buy all their stuff. No regrets.

Excellent Cool Jazz.......2002-07-24

I'll admit up front: I'm not a big Cal Tjader fan. But, I am a big fan of Vince Guaraldi, and "Jazz at the Blackhawk" is probably the best recorded example of his pre-solo work. He had not yet developed his signature sound at this point, although glimpses of it can be heard on his whimsical original composition, "Thinking of You, MJQ." And, with straight-ahead cool jazz piano, a solid rhythm section, and Cal Tjader on vibes, the title of that song could make a good title for the entire album.

A studio recording done in a live setting.......2000-02-22

This album was recorded "live" at San Francisco's Blackhawk jazz club on January 20th,1957. The music itself is very good, as there is no one smoother than Cal Tjader on vibes. The same can be said for his pianist, Vince Guaraldi. However, on this particular project, the quartet seemed to have attempted to produce a "studio like" sound in a "live" surrounding. In doing this, the album really lost a lot of it's potential luster. There is absolutely no dialog, all spaces between songs are done with hasty fade out, and Tjader himself saw to it that any extra sounds from the club itself were kept to an extreme minium. And with the excellent accoustics the Blackhawk provided, this album could easily fool the passive listener as a studio recording rather than done before a live audience. The title of the album, "Jazz At The Blackhawk", is well suited though; "Live at the Blackhawk" would have been somewhat of a misnomer. The music itself being superb, this album is worth owning, but if looking for music with that "live club sound" this album comes up short.

Tjader & Guaraldi jazz before the Brazilian period- dynamite.......1999-07-25

This is a live concert album from 1958 in San Francisco. There is more than one Tjader quartet album while Vince Guaraldi was still with him, but none better than this one. "When the Sun Comes Out" alone is worth the price of admission. The rythm section is outstanding.

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You Are There
This Is Great Jazz
Prime Monk live
Late Riverside Monk
Monk at his "live" best

At the Blackhawk
Thelonious Monk Quartet
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Bebop | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Thelonious in Action: Recorded at the Five Spot Cafe
The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall
Thelonious Himself
5 by Monk by 5
Monk in France

ASIN: B000000YH4
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Let's Call This
Four In One
I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
Epsitrophy (Complete)
Evidence
San Francisco Holiday (Worry Later)
'Round Midnight
Epistrophy (Closing Theme)

Customer Reviews:

You Are There.......2007-01-03

This recording transports me back to the golden era of jazz. I am there - as it's happening with one of the geniuses of jazz with an incredible group.

This Is Great Jazz.......2005-05-16

A previous reviewer describes this performance as "a hurried attempt to salvage a failed session.." and goes on to direct you to other albums instead. DO NOT BE MISLEAD!

If you've an ear for music, if you love music, you will find every sense filled, every want satisfied with this wonderful album. Like the reviewer above, I am not going to tell you about the mood or health of the musicians present, or quote info out of context - these 'snippets' are generally misleading.

This is without any doubt, one of the best Monk albums out there. This is great jazz, great music, even if some of the anoraks don't see it!

Prime Monk live.......2004-07-09

In the latter part of his career, Monk favored the tenor 4tet format. Notwithstanding a few recording sessions with larger groups, his audience discovered his music via the 4tet and the solos (rare in concert). This is why the 5tet in SF is so appreciated. The rhythm section comprises Monk's regular bassist at the time, the very melodic John Ore, and LA-NYC stalwart Billy Higgins, who gives a bounce and an incredibly relaxed energy to Monk's music that few if any drummers before or after were able to give him. The addition of 2 hornmen gives wings to Charlie Rouse, very much the lead in ensemble and solo. Joe Gordon, dispaying a gorgeous bebop-brass tone, and the brilliant and emotional Herb Land quickly rise to the occasion and Monk's demands: make the pianist's tunes sing. Higgins never again recorded with Monk, but it could be said that having recorded the session, Billy had made his mark with this music, because here he defined a Monkian drumming comparable to none. It sounds like he was born to this music, as though he'd played it all his life.
Of course a few of the ensembles are a little ragged - guaranteed to infuriate Monk - but these are some very happy people, "deep in a dream of Monk".

Late Riverside Monk.......2001-11-21

This album was recorded in April 1960 as a hurried attempt to salvage a failed session co-led by Monk & the West Coast drummer Shelly Manne (who simply never hit it off after 2 days of recording). This album's interest lies in the combination of several West-Coast players (Joe Gordon, Harold Land & Billy Higgins) with Monk & his stalwarts Charlie Rouse & John Ore. It's one of Monk's least celebrated Riverside dates, & listening to it I can't really see any strong reason to place it higher in the pantheon: it's a solid but unremarkable date. The tracks are all played at more or less the same midtempo Monk favoured in this period (shortly thereafter, Monk's music became rather more briskly paced due to the eager, propulsive drumming of Frankie Dunlop); understandably, the two extra horns are kept in very much a secondary role: they don't always state the heads of tunes & the leadoff solo spot is given to Rouse each time. Land acquits himself typically well, though Gordon is rather shaky--his solo on "Four in One" is full of awkward turns & fluffs. The leader is playing well & seems to be in a genial mood, despite suffering from a bad cold at the time of recording; his standout solo is on "Four in One", which avid Monk listeners will recognize as the source of a bravura horn arrangement in the version of the tune on the Columbia _Big Band & Quartet_ album. Still, this album is one of Monk's lesser efforts; I'd instead direct the listener to the final two live albums on Riverside, _Monk in Italy_ & _Monk in France_, which are equally little-known but are considerably more engaging performances.

Monk at his "live" best.......2000-02-16

This album was recorded in San Francisco's legendary Blackhawk jazz club. It turned out to be a last-minute project, as originally Monk was to perform with west coast drummer Shelly Manne, but the sound was not there. A last-ditch, one night only effort by the producer added trumpeter Joe Gordon and sax player Harold Land. The result was a very creative piece of work done in a very intimate setting. Monk, known for his "odd times" and "strange keys", sounded as if he had much more than just the one day of rehearsal prior to that night. It was recorded live in a club, and the full accompanyment of sounds heard in intimate jazz clubs of the day are prevalent. Cross talk, phones ringing, dinnerware and cash registers chinging can be heard faintly in the background, but that is part of what makes this album special. If you have the right sound system, you will actually feel as if you're in the Blackhawk with Monk on that night in 1960.

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