Art Blakey was, without doubt, one of the most explosive and rock-solid swinging drummers of all time. He also is one of the finest bandleaders and discoverers of new talent the music has ever known. On the title cut of 1960's A Night in Tunisia, Art is at his most passionate, starting off with a solo full of polyrhythms, color and fire, nearly primal in its intensity. The word "fire" can easily apply to this version of the Jazz Messengers, featuring the blistering trumpet of Lee Morgan, the highly original tenor-saxophonist Wayne Shorter, the funky pianist Bobby Timmons and the always-reliable bassist Jymie Merritt. In addition to their remarkable instrumental prowess, Morgan, Shorter and Timmons were skilled songwriters. Each contributes a song or two to this classic set, including Timmons' "So Tired." However, it is the 11-minute version of Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia," given arguably its greatest recording, that really makes this album a transcendent jazz listening experience for the ages.<
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1.
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A Night In Tunisa
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2.
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Sincerely Diana
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3.
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Sincerely Diana (alt. version)
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4.
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So Tired
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5.
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Yama
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6.
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Kozo's Waltz
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7.
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When Your Lover Has Gone
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 Customer Reviews
(4.75 Stars) 4 person(s) rated this product.
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Fantastic sound. Highly recommend. posted on 06/06/2010
5 Stars
Reviewer: dmeeker
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| I now own a number of these 45 RPM 180-gram pressings and can say confidently that the sound on this session is particluarly well brought out by the remastering engineers. Blakey's amazing percussion work helps, surely. I commented on Blakey's impact on Mobley's Roll Call record (a personal favorite) earlier, which makes me think that maybe Blakey's muscley, inciting approach lends itself particularly well to sonic remastering. Just a thought. He's just all over the drum kit here, too, which makes for incredible music coming out of my thrift-store-found Marantz speakers. In any case, the title track is simply breathtaking compared to an earlier Blue Note reissue I own and is (well, isn't it?) a classic. Beautiful photos inside the gatefold, too, I should add. I no longer smoke, but he sure makes it look lovely...
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Much better than the Japanese import posted on 02/07/2009
4 Stars
Reviewer: Marcos
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| I compared this MM reissue to the $50 Japanese pressing purchased from another record site, as AS doesn't carry it. Personally, I prefer 33.3 records for their longer playing time per side and I figured I would try the Japanese pressing to see if I would continue to purchase more MM records or just go with the Japanese 33's. No comparison. Using "So Tired" as the shootout track, I compared the MM, the Japanese and an old original I have around. First of all - the Japanese pressing, although it claims to be stereo, is mono. Everything is down the middle. There's nothing wrong with mono - just say it's mono. To keep it short, let me just say that the MM was far superior. Smoother, less nasal horns, more bass pitch definition, less stridency, but still with edge. Hands down, no contest. Of course this review is limited to this record and it's sister Japanese pressing. I can't speak for all of them.
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