{"product_id":"art-blakey-the-jazz-messengers-just-coolin-blue-note-classic-vinyl-series","title":"Art Blakey \u0026 The Jazz Messengers – Just Coolin' (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eJust Coolin’\u003c\/em\u003e: a never-before-released studio album by Art Blakey \u0026amp; The Jazz Messengers that was recorded on March 8, 1959 in Rudy Van Gelder’s living room studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. The session featured a short-lived line-up of The Jazz Messengers with drummer Art Blakey, trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt. The album features two previously unissued compositions including Timmons’ tune “Quick Trick”.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe session for \u003cem\u003eJust Coolin’\u003c\/em\u003e finds The Jazz Messengers’ saxophone chair in transition. The band had last recorded in October 1958 when they cemented their place in jazz history with the classic album \u003cem\u003eMoanin’\u003c\/em\u003e featuring Benny Golson on tenor saxophone. By July 1959, Blakey had recruited tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter who would remain a fixture of the band until 1964.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe interim saw the return of Mobley, who was a charter member of The Jazz Messengers when the band first formed in 1954 and appeared on their debut recording T\u003cem\u003ehe Jazz Messengers At The Café Bohemia\u003c\/em\u003e in 1955. Mobley also filled an important role as the band’s resident composer. In fact, three of the six tracks on Just Coolin’ were written by Mobley: “Hipsippy Blues,” “M\u0026amp;M,” and “Just Coolin’.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, five weeks after the studio session Blue Note founder and producer Alfred Lion decided to record the band again at the legendary club Birdland in New York City on April 15, 1959, capturing an assured live recording that included four of the six titles that had been recorded in March. The Birdland sessions ended up superseding the studio date when Lion instead released the two-volume live album \u003cem\u003eArt Blakey \u0026amp; The Jazz Messengers At The Jazz Corner Of The World \u003c\/em\u003elater that year. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenote.com\/art-blakey-jazz-messengers-just-coolin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLabel\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man or woman in possession of a good quantity of Art Blakey albums, must be in want of a lot more. Previously unreleased albums are particularly enticing. So do not be fooled by the Reid Miles-inspired cover of \u003cem\u003eJust Coolin'\u003c\/em\u003e: the disc is previously unissued. It presents Blakey in his pomp fronting a dream-team Jazz Messengers lineup.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is not known why Lion decided to shelve the session, but the likely reason is that five weeks later he recorded the same lineup live at New York's Birdland for what became the two-volume set At The Jazz Corner Of The World, which includes four of the six tunes that make up \u003cem\u003eJust Coolin'\u003c\/em\u003e. By the time the Messengers got to Birdland, the material — all of it new to the band — was more familiar to the musicians and the ensemble passages were played with more precision. Lion, always a stickler for such exactitude, probably decided to release the live album rather the studio session for that reason.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eJust Coolin's\u003c\/em\u003e occasional borderline-ragged theme statement, however, pales into insignificance when measured alongside the passion with which the players approach the material. The album features Blakey with trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Bobby Timmons and bassist Jymie Merritt. Three of the tunes are Mobley originals: \"Hipsippy Blues,\" \"M\u0026amp;M\" and \"Just Coolin,'\" which were subsequently recorded at Birdland along with Bernice Petkere's \"Close Your Eyes.\" The previously unissued pieces are \"Jimerick\" (composer unknown) and Timmons' \"Quick Trick.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSixty-one years after it was recorded, \u003cem\u003eJust Coolin'\u003c\/em\u003e affirms another truth deserving of universal acknowledgement: hard bop of this quality is immortal. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/just-coolin-art-blakey-and-the-jazz-messengers-blue-note-records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eAll About Jazz\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow here's what you call an archival gold nugget!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA rediscovered studio recording by the short-lived spring 1959 edition of Blakey's Messengers, which unlike other recent vault-retrievals, is a genuine ‘album’ rather than a sewn-together set of off-cuts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart of the reason for its long-deferred release was that of the six pieces it comprises four were rerecorded by Blue Note live at Birdland a month later for the two LP volumes of \u003cem\u003eAt The Jazz Corner of The World\u003c\/em\u003e. Fear not though: these are not pallid studio warmups – this is a working band positively on fire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSandwiched between the Benny Golson\/\u003cem\u003eMoanin'\u003c\/em\u003e edition of the group and its equally notable successor with Wayne Shorter in the tenor chair, this all-but-forgotten Messengers line-up might just be the apotheosis of hard bop. Morgan and Mobley (the ‘M \u0026amp; M’ commemorated in one track title) were a front-line made for each other, one puckish and bubbling, the other slyly lyrical. Add what has to be one of Blakey's pushiest rhythm teams with Timmons and Merritt and you have the makings of a classic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd that's exactly what \u003cem\u003eJust Coolin'\u003c\/em\u003e is: that much-touted thing – a truly ‘classic’ Blue Note. There are simply too many high spots to capture here, but right from the soulful ‘Hipsippy Blues’ which opens the disc (a backbeated minor blues that is a virtual definition of the labels ‘house’ style), through the groovy ‘Close Your Eyes’ and the way-up-there burning of ‘Jimerick’ you have all the elements that made Blakey and Blue Note's association so apposite. Short at around 39 minutes, this is a set with absolutely no filler, but that's the point: this killer is the very essence of hard bop. An album that deserves all the stars you can throw at it. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.jazzwise.com\/review\/art-blakey-and-the-jazz-messengers-just-coolin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eJazz Wise\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/7EgjzSVwj5Y8L897m3UiUK?utm_source=generator\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinyl Tracklist\u003cbr\u003eA1 Hipsippy Blues\u003cbr\u003eA2 Close your Eyes\u003cbr\u003eA3 Jimerick\u003cbr\u003eB1 Quick Trick\u003cbr\u003eB2 M+M\u003cbr\u003eB3 Just Coolin’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e↓\u003cbr\u003eLabel: Blue Note\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo\u003cbr\u003eReleased: 2020 \/ Originally recorded: 1959\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Jazz\u003cbr\u003eStyle: Hard Bop\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFile under: Blue Note\u003cbr\u003e⦿\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blue Note Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46388870119582,"sku":"60250865023","price":48.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0584\/5434\/3838\/files\/Blakey-Art-Just-Coolin-696x696.jpg?v=1768029745","url":"https:\/\/theanalogvault.com\/products\/art-blakey-the-jazz-messengers-just-coolin-blue-note-classic-vinyl-series","provider":"The Analog Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}