Search - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers :: Caravan

Caravan is classic

pedigoan | U. of Tennessee | 03/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...This album was given to me as an assignment to study the form of the tunes and phrasing of solos. My teacher has listened to my comments heard me play, and usually tries to recommend albums that open me up to something I can connect to. This wasn't the first album I have studied by his assignment so I trusted his selection without reserve. For example, he had passed me Crescent (probably the best studio recording John Coltrane ever did), Art Pepper meets the Rhythm Section (Philly Joe Jones solos here are ones I...and maybe every other drummer has memorized), and Somethin' Else (Miles as a sideman...sort of).Caravan has taken its place amongst the recordings I hold close to my soul. "This is for Albert" alone is an incredible tune, and I have spent enough time to justify buying this album ten times over with only that song. The tune is difficult to navigate and Art Blakey, like a master moves the song along with delicate rhyth-melodic phrasing. The sound attracted me.
Listening to Freddie Hubbard on the whole album he is so energetic, so nineteen years old! And he interacts with the group so well. Art Blakey was an incredible leader, putting such youth and experience together and coming out with a monumental recording. Thermo is a premonition to the F Hubbard sound which has carved its own place in the history of jazz.
The title track is also a masterful accomplishment. Art Blakey is a hard drummer, but that is Art Blakey....you try it and make that musical, because he does. It isnt just showmanship, there is more there to recognize.Mr Gray's sentiments are not mine to contradict or disregard, I just want you to know that what he wrote is not the end definition for this record."

Clumsy camels

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 11/21/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Out of the 40-50 Blakey albums I've collected, this is the most "arranged," with the exception of the early "Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers" on Columbia, featuring the compositions and arrangements of Silver and Mobley along with masterful solo work by Mobley and Byrd. Moreover, the five-piece ensemble is so well mixed, it sounds like a mini-big band, exhibiting rare cohesion and group dynamics throughout along with an ideal balance between ensemble passages and solos.



By comparison, "Caravan" is a less satisfying album, with arrangements that sound overly busy, forced, occasionally awkward, and solos that are often spotty and choppy. Hubbard is in rare form, beginning with the title piece, but he's interrupted by a pedestrian Shorter solo just as he's hitting his stride--a pattern that continues throughout the session. Fuller always sounds so close to J. J. as to invite comparisons, which do the former no favors. His tone, articulations, and ideas are always a step behind, contributing little to the overall effectiveness of the ensemble.



Another problem with this session is the sound. Separation is extreme to the point of being annoying, making each of the individual horns sound like they're in separate recording studios. The piano sounds distant, and the bass so muffled I'm reminded of some of the '40's Parker recordings. This was not an especially encouraging new start for Blakey after the many distinguished recordings--on location as well as in the studio--by Blakey and the Messengers in the mid to late fifties--one of the reasons, I'm constantly searching for Blakey recordings, as scarce as they may be, by the underrated and neglected but mighty Messianic Messengers of the seventies. (I'm usually getting them from England, Holland, Japan, and frequently on LP--a bit of a hassle but well worth it once you've connected with the special spirit that Blakey, Hardman, Schnitter, along with the compositions of Walter Davis Jr. brought to the table.)"