This is another great album which was recorded at the Cafe Bohemia on September 9, 1955 and just another which I am featuring here on Jazz Con Class. I have already featured three and there is supposed to be 8 live recordings in total, although I ran into another here which was a broadcast recording from the club itself. Here are the posts of the ones I covered already: Mingus at the Bohemia, Kenny Clarke’s “Bohemia after Dark” and Art Blackey’s and the Jazz Messengers Volume One. I just find it so intriguing that Cafe Bohemia only was around for 2 years and so many great albums were recorded there. It was a hangout for so many great Jazz musicians and happened to be when they were all in their prime or becoming famous. This Live performance can be found in two separate albums. The original album is the one in which you see the image on top of post but that’s the LP image, the CD version is different. There were a total of 6 songs recorded in Cafe Bohemia and they will be featured. Check the schedule link for play times, enjoy!
More on the original Album “George Wallington Quintet Live! at Cafe Bohemia“:
Live! At Cafe Bohemia album by George Wallington was released on the Original Jazz Classics label. This live set, although led by pianist George Wallington, is most significant for giving listeners early examples of the playing of trumpeter Donald Byrd and altoist Jackie McLean; bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor complete the quintet. Live! At Cafe Bohemia music CDs The music, although comprised mostly of group originals (other than “Johnny One Note” and Oscar Pettiford’s “Bohemia After Dark”), is essentially a bebop jam and it is particularly interesting to hear just how much McLean was influenced by Charlie Parker at this point (although his sound was already quickly recognizable)……Learn More
More on the double CD ( With purple image and different description in the middle) has bonus tracks (“George Wallington Quintet Complete Live! at Cafe Bohemia“):
The people behind the Lone Hill Jazz label deserve some kind of humanitarian award for reissuing two of George Wallington’s very best albums: Live! At Cafe Bohemia (recorded on September 9, 1955, and subsequently issued on both the Progressive and Prestige labels) and George Wallington Showcase (recorded in a studio for Blue Note on May 12, 1954). The band heard at the Bohemia — trumpeter Donald Byrd and alto saxophonist Jackie McLean in front of Wallington, Paul Chambers, and Art Taylor — had the power and depth of ensembles led by Charles Mingus and Art Blakey during the mid- to late ’50s…….Learn More
More on George Wallington:
George Wallington was one of the first and best bop pianists, ranking up there with Al Haig, just below Bud Powell. He was also the composer of two bop standards that caught on for a time: “Lemon Drop” and “Godchild.” Born in Sicily, Wallington and his family moved to the U.S. in 1925. He arrived in New York in the early ’40s and was a member of the first bop group to play on 52nd Street, Dizzy Gillespie’s combo of 1943-1944. After spending a year with Joe Marsala’s band, Wallington played with the who’s who of bop during 1946-1952, including Charlie Parker, Serge Chaloff, Allan Eager, Kai Winding, Terry Gibbs, Brew Moore, Al Cohn, Gerry Mulligan, Zoot Sims, and Red Rodney. He toured Europe with Lionel Hampton’s ill-fated big band of 1953, and during 1954-1960 he led groups in New York that included among its up-and-coming sidemen Donald Byrd and Jackie McLean (the latter succeeded by Phil Woods). …….Learn More
