Original Liner Notes: For many years I have been very fortunate in being connected with the jazz scene here in America. I have been on the radio for some time, dispensing to jazz followers the type of music and performances on records that I think these followers have wanted to hear. I am not a jazz critic, but I sincerely welcome the opportunity to write a few passing comments about what I honestly believe to be one of the most important jazz albums to be released in many years.
It has been my contention, ever since I became associated with jazz, that to record musicians at their best and to capture the very best that was in them, the place to do it was at the most renowned jazz club in the country. I refer, of course, to that fabulous jazz emporium in the heart of Manhattan at Broadway and 52nd Street—Birdland. Over the years, this nightclubhas become the very symbol for the greatest in jazz music. For this reason I have remained steadfast to the theory that this was the spot to capture on record, for posterity, the very essence of jazz—spontaneity!
This, then, is what this album is about. Roulette Records decided to record the Monday night jazz activities at Birdland. Monday night at Birdland has been a tradition. It has been the night the regular band playing the club is off, and the night has been set aside for the young, up-and-coming jazz musicians. On Monday nights these musicians are given the opportunity to wail, blow, and
Show the world the stuff that goes into a jazz performance. By no stretch of the imagination are these young talents amateurs. Performers like Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, and Hank Mobley are well-schooled music men who have not as yet reached the dazzling heights of the greats, the revered giants of the field. Nevertheless, these men have something important to say, and on Monday nights at Birdland, the management gives them a chance to say it.
I wonder how many of you realize how a musician feels when he is blowing at Birdland, "The Jazz Corner Of The World." I think the feeling can be capsulized this way: the musician knows that he is performing before an audience that is the most appreciative in the world. They are people who are curious about jazz, people who follow it blindly, and, finally, people who frequent this temple because they know they will hear this music played as it should be played—loose, unrestricted, and completely spontaneous. Birdland is a showcase they can find nowhere else, and because they know this and know they are wanted, they rise to the occasion and always give their best.
I know that some of our so-called jazz critics say, "Take jazz out of the night clubs; it disturbs the musicians." These critics are either too young or too forgetful. One thing for certain, they were not on the jazz scene years ago. They never experienced a night at
Kelly's Stables, the Onyx Club, the Roost, Bop City, Minton's, or the Uptown House. It was in these hallowed clubs that modern jazz, as we now know it, really started. Monk, Parker, "Fats," "Dizzy," and all of our great jazz men gave their greatest performances in these clubs. I remember Bird, Diz, Bud, and Max one night in the early forties after doing "A Night in Tunisia" for forty-five minutes for the customers, and after the wild, thunderous ovation subsided, they turned to each other and said, "Wow, we've been wailing." It was in such unforgettable performances in such night spots that modern jazz was born.
All this was in the past. All the clubs I mentioned are now just names, nothing more. It's the fifties, and there is still Birdland and those wonderful Monday nights. It has been my pleasure to act as master of ceremonies at these Monday night sessions. After a number of Monday nights, and after hearing what has been captured between the covers of this album, I can say, without hesitation, that the tradition of great jazz that is being made in the night clubs has been faithfully kept. It has been kept by the musicians you will hear on this album and by the Birdland management and Roulette Records.
This album is an auspicious beginning to a series of "on the scene" live performances of the Monday night action at Birdland. I think it will go far in preserving the feeling of a serious young America, the unique part of its culture known as jazz, and most of all, the swingin' young musicians who perform it.
diegodobini2
Hank Mobley, Curtis Fuller, Lee Morgan – Monday Night At Birdland (1959)
https://youtu.be/_wDN_r9LDwI
Original Liner Notes:
For many years I have been very fortunate in being connected with the jazz scene here in America. I have been on the radio for some time, dispensing to jazz followers the type of music and performances on records that I think these followers have wanted to hear. I am not a jazz critic, but I sincerely welcome the opportunity to write a few passing comments about what I honestly believe to be one of the most important jazz albums to be released in many years.
It has been my contention, ever since I became associated with jazz, that to record musicians at their best and to capture the very best that was in them, the place to do it was at the most renowned jazz club in the country. I refer, of course, to that fabulous jazz emporium in the heart of Manhattan at Broadway and 52nd Street—Birdland. Over the years, this nightclubhas become the very symbol for the greatest in jazz music. For this reason I have remained steadfast to the theory that this was the spot to capture on record, for posterity, the very essence of jazz—spontaneity!
This, then, is what this album is about. Roulette Records decided to record the Monday night jazz activities at Birdland. Monday night at Birdland has been a tradition. It has been the night the regular band playing the club is off, and the night has been set aside for the young, up-and-coming jazz musicians. On Monday nights these musicians are given the opportunity to wail, blow, and
Show the world the stuff that goes into a jazz performance. By no stretch of the imagination are these young talents amateurs. Performers like Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, and Hank Mobley are well-schooled music men who have not as yet reached the dazzling heights of the greats, the revered giants of the field. Nevertheless, these men have something important to say, and on Monday nights at Birdland, the management gives them a chance to say it.
I wonder how many of you realize how a musician feels when he is blowing at Birdland, "The Jazz Corner Of The World." I think the feeling can be capsulized this way: the musician knows that he is performing before an audience that is the most appreciative in the world. They are people who are curious about jazz, people who follow it blindly, and, finally, people who frequent this temple because they know they will hear this music played as it should be played—loose, unrestricted, and completely spontaneous. Birdland is a showcase they can find nowhere else, and because they know this and know they are wanted, they rise to the occasion and always give their best.
I know that some of our so-called jazz critics say, "Take jazz out of the night clubs; it disturbs the musicians." These critics are either too young or too forgetful. One thing for certain, they were not on the jazz scene years ago. They never experienced a night at
Kelly's Stables, the Onyx Club, the Roost, Bop City, Minton's, or the Uptown House. It was in these hallowed clubs that modern jazz, as we now know it, really started. Monk, Parker, "Fats," "Dizzy," and all of our great jazz men gave their greatest performances in these clubs. I remember Bird, Diz, Bud, and Max one night in the early forties after doing "A Night in Tunisia" for forty-five minutes for the customers, and after the wild, thunderous ovation subsided, they turned to each other and said, "Wow, we've been wailing." It was in such unforgettable performances in such night spots that modern jazz was born.
All this was in the past. All the clubs I mentioned are now just names, nothing more. It's the fifties, and there is still Birdland and those wonderful Monday nights. It has been my pleasure to act as master of ceremonies at these Monday night sessions. After a number of Monday nights, and after hearing what has been captured between the covers of this album, I can say, without hesitation, that the tradition of great jazz that is being made in the night clubs has been faithfully kept. It has been kept by the musicians you will hear on this album and by the Birdland management and Roulette Records.
This album is an auspicious beginning to a series of "on the scene" live performances of the Monday night action at Birdland. I think it will go far in preserving the feeling of a serious young America, the unique part of its culture known as jazz, and most of all, the swingin' young musicians who perform it.
"SYMPHONY SYD" TURIN
1 week ago | [YT] | 35