The Freedom Rider
The Freedom Rider | ||||
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Studio album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers | ||||
Released | February 1964[1] | |||
Recorded | February 12 (#7-8), February 18 (#4), and May 27 (#1-3, 5-6), 1961 | |||
Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 54:01 (CD reissue) | |||
Label | Blue Note Records BST 84156 | |||
Producer | Alfred Lion | |||
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [3] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [4] |
The Freedom Rider is an album by jazz drummer Art Blakey and his group the Jazz Messengers. Continuing Blakey's distinct brand of hard bop, this album features contributions from Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Blakey himself, and Kenny Dorham, a former Jazz Messenger. This was the final album by this particular edition of the Jazz Messengers, who had been together for 18 months, as Lee Morgan left after this album and was replaced by Freddie Hubbard. The compositions themselves are varied, with Blakey contributing an energetic drum solo on "The Freedom Rider"; at least three of the compositions on the album are blues pieces. "El Toro" features a solo by Shorter incorporating the sheets of sound technique pioneered by John Coltrane. The CD version contains three bonus tracks originally released on the album Pisces.
The album's title track, a drum solo by Blakey, was recorded three weeks after the first of the 1961 freedom rides. These were a series of civil rights protests against segregation that took place on interstate buses traveling through the Southern United States.
Track listing[]
- "Tell It Like It Is" (Shorter) – 7:53
- "The Freedom Rider" (Blakey) – 7:25
- "El Toro" (Shorter) – 6:20
- "Petty Larceny" (Morgan) – 6:14
- "Blue Lace" (Morgan) – 5:59
Bonus tracks on CD reissue:
- "Uptight" (Morgan) – 6:12
- "Pisces" (Morgan) – 6:52
- "Blue Ching" (Kenny Dorham) – 6:43
Personnel[]
- Art Blakey — drums
- Lee Morgan — trumpet
- Wayne Shorter — tenor saxophone
- Bobby Timmons — piano
- Jymie Merritt — double bass
References[]
- ^ Liner notes by Michael Cuscuna to 2015 Japanese SHM-CD reissue
- ^ The Freedom Rider at AllMusic
- ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 25. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
- 1964 albums
- Art Blakey albums
- The Jazz Messengers albums
- Albums produced by Alfred Lion
- Blue Note Records albums
- Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio