Search - Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd :: Birth of Hard Bop

Packed full of gorgeous stuff

B. Sloane | Los Angeles, CA USA | 08/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Disc Two of this 2-CD collection of Hank Mobley, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan, John LaPorte, and various brilliant rhythm men is highly enjoyable, but it's Disc One that will take over your CD player. I've never heard a better hard bop compilation; both the ballads and the uptempo numbers are superb. I love Hank Mobley and thought I knew most of his compositions, but I'd never heard his "Cattin'" (two different takes included here; the master take is a more finished product) or the gorgeous "Madeline". The Mobley/Byrd rendition of "There Will Never Be Another You" is among the best versions of this great standard, and the slow treatment by Byrd and John LaPorta of "I Married an Angel" is unusual and beautiful. Many of the artists recorded here were in the early stages of tragically short careers; it's poignant to hear them just as they were beginning to come into their own. Thanks to the people at Savoy Records, for making sure their music will always be with us."