''New Sounds'' was originally a 10" LP compiling previously released 78 rpm records on the

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

label. A CD reissue with the same name and cover appeared in 1991, but while using many of the same personnel, had only two tracks in common with the original LP. It instead compiled a distinct James Moody 10" LP (''James Moody and his Modernists'', BLP 5006) with the

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 1 ...

tracks and included several tracks previously unreleased on LP or any format. Conversely, the tracks omitted from the CD, which were on the Moody LP, have not been reissued on CD.

Background

In December 1947,

formed a group for his first sessions as a leader. Dubbed Art Blakey's Messengers, this group was a precursor to

The Jazz Messengers The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the o ...

groups of the next decade and beyond. Blakey had recently gone on a pilgrimage to Africa and adopted Islam. Many of his fellow musicians had adopted the religion as well, and the "Messengers" name was a nod to the message of the religion. Five tracks were recorded during this session, four of which came out on 78s. Two of the tracks were on the original 10" LP, all five are on the CD. Three of the other four tracks on the original 10" LP were recorded by a group billed as the Max Roach Quintet, recorded in Paris in May 1949. This group included James Moody and

Kenny Dorham McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and occasional singer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention ...

(who was also in Blakey's Messengers). The final track was recorded by a Moody-led group in Switzerland, in April 1949. These four tracks were originally released on three 78s. As noted above the previous four tracks were omitted from the CD and replaced by two different James Moody sessions which were previously released on the 10" LP ''James Moody and His Modernists'' (BLP 5006). This LP, too, was a compilation of records originally released as 78s. The ''New Sounds'' CD includes the entirety of these two sessions—recorded October 19 and 25, 1948—including a previously unreleased alternate take of "The Fuller Bop Man."

Reception

In his review of the CD version of ''New Sounds'',

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the recordings as "historically significant. Classic and formerly rare music."

Track listing

Original LP

Compact disc

Personnel

Art Blakey's Messengers

''LP Tracks A3 and B3, CD tracks 10–14'' *

– trumpet * Haleen Rashid – trombone *

Sahib Shihab Sahib Shihab (born Edmund Gregory; June 23, 1925 – October 24, 1989) was an American jazz and hard bop saxophonist (baritone, alto, and soprano) and flautist. He variously worked with Luther Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Fletcher Henderson, Tad ...

–

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

* Musa Kaleem –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

* Ernest Thompson –

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

* Walter Bishop, Jr. – piano * Laverne Barker – double bass *

– drums

Max Roach Quintet

''LP tracks A1, A2, B1'' *

– trumpet * James Moody –

Al Haig Alan Warren Haig (July 19, 1922 – November 16, 1982) was an American jazz pianist, best known as one of the pioneers of bebop. Biography Haig was born in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Nutley. In 1940, he majored in piano at Ob ...

– piano *

Tommy Potter Charles Thomas Potter (September 21, 1918 – March 1, 1988) was an American jazz double bass player, best known for having been a member of Charlie Parker's "classic quintet", with Miles Davis, between 1947 and 1950. Born in Philadelphia, Penn ...

– double bass *

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

– drums

James Moody Quartet

''LP track B2'' * James Moody –

Art Simmons Arthur Eugene Simmons (February 5, 1926 – April 23, 2018) was an American jazz pianist. Simmons was born in Glen White, West Virginia, in February 1926. He played in a band while serving in the U.S. military in 1946, then remained in Germany af ...

– piano * Alvin "Buddy" Banks – double bass * Clarence Terry – drums

''James Moody's Modernists''

''CD tracks 1–9'' * Dave Burns,

Elmon Wright Elmon Wright (October 27, 1929 – 1984) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the son of Lammar Wright Sr. and the brother of Lammar Wright Jr. Wright played with Don Redman early in his career, then with Dizzy Gillespie's first big band in ...

– trumpet * Ernie Henry –

* James Moody –

Cecil Payne Cecil Payne (December 14, 1922 – November 27, 2007) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, New York. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute. He played with other prominent jazz musicians, in particular Dizzy Gilles ...

–

* James "Hen Gates" Forman – piano * Nelson Boyd – double bass * Teddy Stewart – drums (tracks 1–5) *

– drums (tracks 6–9) *

Chano Pozo Luciano Pozo González (January 7, 1915 – December 3, 1948), known professionally as Chano Pozo, was a Cuban jazz percussionist, singer, dancer, and composer. Despite only living to the age of 33, he played a major role in the founding of Latin ...

–

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

, vocals (tracks 6–9) *

Gil Fuller Walter Gilbert "Gil" Fuller (April 14, 1920, Los Angeles, California – May 26, 1994, San Diego, California) was an American jazz arranger. He is no relation to the jazz trumpeter and vocalist Walter "Rosetta" Fuller. In the 1930s and 1940s, F ...

– arranger

Notes

References

{{Authority control Art Blakey albums Max Roach albums 1952 albums Albums produced by Alfred Lion Albums produced by Michael Cuscuna Blue Note Records albums