Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – Free For All

From the very first notes it is clear that this is not jazz for Sunday. The title track just kicks you in the ass so hard that before you know it, the first side of the record is over. I read somewhere that Van Gelder was shocked when the band started recording with such intensity and power. The album sounds raw and angry. Hentoff mentions in the notes how Blakey galvanized band. You can clearly hear him shouting and cheering during the performance. On the later release of the album, there is also an unfinished version of the title track, during which Blakey tore up the drum.Hubbard is again phenomenal and technically perfect, but Shorter sounds like he's from another galaxy. Workman's percussive bass is aggressive from the start, but rhythmically accurate and dynamic. Blakey perfectly changes the scheme of the songs, which adds to their immediacy. Some songs from this same session made it to the next album Kyoto, which was released on Riverside ( Nihon Bash and Kyoto?) The emotional and artistic experience is enhanced by the iconic cover. The sound of this edition is excellent. No distortion or harshness. With excellent texture of instruments and their resolution in loud passages. At the same time, it retains a certain rawness and earthiness. Drums and bass go low enough without compromising transparency. My copy was without reissue sticker and download coupon. Barcode and deadwax signature are identical. Highly recommended.

This is a phenomenal album, one of the best messengers albums but probably one of the most disappointing remasters in my collection. Sibilance and distortion throughout the disk. Especially in the loud sections, drums and trumpet/trombone sound pretty harsh. The vinyl is also noisy with some noticeable pops and cracks. Not recommended.