Kook's Clique (Kenny Clarke John La Porta Donald Byrd) LP 1956 VERY GOOD
$
27
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Description
Klook's Clique
Savoy Records MG_12065 LP 33RPM 12" 1956 (Canada)
This Kenny Clarke-led album is swinging hard bop that holds it own against anything Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers were recording during this period - or after. In fact I cannot help but think that the first track, Volcano, is an homage to Blakey since his nickname was "The Volcano" because of his explosive playing. The reason I think this is Clarke is uncharacteristically busy on the drums. He is normally a genius in the pocket, but some of the press rolls on that track inspired me to pause the album and jump on my drum kit for intense practice.
Everyone on this album was performing at peak. More importantly, every musician was given ample space to stretch out, so while the music is tight and perfect it feels more like a jam session than a recording session.
One thing that I love about this album is how it brings Donald Byrd back into focus for me. I keep forgetting what a lyrical sound he gets from his trumpet. Some of the verses he played truly moved me. John LaPorta's alto was equally as lyrical on this album. I have not delved deeply into his body of work, but this album inspires me to do just that because I love his sound. The rhythm section here is easily the equal of the melody instruments. In fact, Ronnie Ball's piano was as melodic (and harmonic) as the trumpet and alto in places. With bassist Wendell Marshall and Klook on drums the pulse is intense and the rhythm positively swings. In other words, this is everything you would expect from Clarke and more. He was much more than a drummer. He was also a pianist and someone who deeply knew music theory and applied it as both a session leader and drummer.
This alum was recorded for Savoy in NYC on February 6, 1956 with no extra takes. It was released the same year as catalog number MG 12065 and clocks in at 33:36.
Tracklist
A1 Will Wail
A2 Volcano
A3 La Porta-Thority
B1 I Hear A Rhapsody
B2 Yesterdays
B3 Play Fiddle Play
Vinyl is EXCELLENT in a paper inner sleeve, in a picture sleeve in GOOD condition (corner bend, general wear)
Note About Shipping To The U.S.
We are located in Canada, but have registered ourselves on eBay.com instead of eBay.ca because it gives us significantly better global exposure. The problem with this is that eBay wants us to charge shipping appropriate to US, where media mail and other options make for fairly reasonable delivery costs. We tried it for a while but ended up losing money on shipping or having to cancel the orders because we couldn't afford to ship for those rates. To manage this we have set the US shipping to run a calculator based on an American location (we chose Plattsburgh as fairly close) and charging according to UPS pricing. This avoids the cancellation issue, but appears to the buyer to be a prohibitive shipping cost and misrepresents the shipping as being only expedited. If you give us your postal code we will see if we can offer a more reasonable option, but generally we can get a single LP by air to most places in the continental US for $11, a few bucks less for ground.
Thanks for shopping Sir Helmitt,
Jeff Green, e-sales
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