''Mr. A.T.'' is an album by drummer Arthur Taylor and his band Taylor's Wailers. It was recorded on December 9, 1991, at

Van Gelder Studio The Van Gelder Studio is a recording studio at 445 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States. Following the use of his parents' home at 25 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack, New Jersey, for the original studio, Rudy Van Gelder (1924– ...

in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was released on CD in 1992 by

Enja Records Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Jap ...

. On the album, Taylor is joined by saxophonists

Abraham Burton Abraham Augustus Burton Jr. (born March 17, 1971) is an American saxophonist and bandleader. Biography Burton was born in New York City on March 17, 1971, and was raised in Greenwich Village. He studied at the Hartt School from 1989 to 1993, grad ...

and Willie Williams, pianist

Marc Cary Marc Cary (born January 29, 1967) is a post bop jazz pianist based out of New York City. Cary has played and recorded with several well-known musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Roy Hargrove, Arthur Taylor, Abbey Lincoln, Carlos ...

, and double bassist Tyler Mitchell.

Reception

In an article for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Peter Watrous wrote: "One of the best groups in jazz, led by one of the jazz's best drummers and arrangers, has produced an explosive and intelligent piece of work."

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles a ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

noted that Taylor "re-emerged as an important bandleader with this Enja CD," and stated: "On a variety of tunes from the 1950s and '60s... the musicians play some high-quality modern hard bop. Enjoyable music." The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' commented: "With the demise of

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the ...

, Taylor's Wailers look set to be one of the principal training grounds for younger players... his own playing has never sounded more upfront and committed... Williams and Abrahams... are big, burly players and, though Taylor still has an aristocrat's touch, he kicks the group along with real gusto, even if the music is formulaic." The editors of '' MusicHound Jazz'' awarded the album a full five stars, and reviewer Chris Hovan remarked: "Walter Bolden's choice compositions and a fiery band... all help make this Taylor's greatest record of his career."

Track listing

# "Mr. A.T." ( Walter Bolden) – 11:57 # " Hi-Fly" (

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

) – 7:01 # "

Soul Eyes "Soul Eyes" is a composition, with lyrics, written by Mal Waldron.Ratliff, Ben (December 6, 2002"Mal Waldron, 77, Composer of the Jazz Ballad 'Soul Eyes'" ''The New York Times''. It is a 32-bar ballad that takes the song form ABAC, and is written ...

" (

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

) – 14:16 # "Bullet Train" (Walter Bolden) – 5:57 # "It Doesn't Matter" (Arthur Taylor) – 2:07 # "Ahmad's Blues" (

Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones, July 2, 1930) is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and educator. For six decades, he has been one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. Biography Early life Jamal was born Fr ...

) – 7:04 # "Gingerbread Boy" (

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath ...

) – 3:36 # "Mr A.T." (Walter Bolden) – 3:24

Personnel

* Arthur Taylor – drums *

– alto saxophone * Willie Williams – tenor saxophone *

– piano * Tyler Mitchell – double bass

References

{{Reflist 1992 albums Art Taylor albums Enja Records albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio