Craft Reissues Historical Art Blakey Album

Cover of the album being discussed (from the album’s Wikipedia page)

My latest encounter with a Craft Recordings vinyl reissue of a significant jazz classic involves the Caravan album. This was the first release by Riverside Records to feature drummer Art Blakey leading his Jazz Messengers. The ensemble was a sextet; and the roster of musicians contributing to the recording sessions, which took place on October 23 and 24 of 1962, read like a roll call of jazz giants. Those five giants of jazz are (in the order given on the Wikipedia page for the Caravan album) are as follows:

1. Freddie Hubbard (trumpet)
2. Curtis Fuller (trombone)
3. Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone)
4. Cedar Walton (piano)
5. Reggie Workman (bass)

The new Caravan vinyl has now been added to the options on the Amazon.com Web page for the album. As expected, the other options account for both CD and MP3 releases. The album consisted of six tracks, three of which were composed by Messengers. Hubbard provided the final track, “Thermo;” and Shorter contributed “Sweet ’n’ Sour” and “This is for Albert.” The opening track is Juan Tizol’s “Caravan;” and the other standards are “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” and “Skylark.” There are two alternate-take tracks for “Thermo” and “Sweet ’n’ Sour;” but they are only available on CD or MP3.

From a personal point of view, I am delighted to add this to my collection (in a version that includes the bonus tracks). It was only when I learned more about the Messengers that worked with him that my interest in Blakey was piqued. I suspect that many of those hooked on vinyl will be happy that Craft has allowed them to enhance their collections. However, from my personal analytic viewpoint, I am less interested in the assets and liabilities of audio technologies and more interested in those alternate takes. Learning about how the music gets made makes listening all the more stimulating!