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Art Blakey & The Jazz MessengersJust Coolin'

Genre:

Jazz

Style:

Hard Bop

Year:

Tracklist

Hipsippy Blues6:40
Close Your Eyes6:26
Jimerick6:22
Quick Trick4:43
M&M5:59
Just Coolin'8:43

Credits (13)

Versions

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    10 versions
    Image, In Your Collection, Wantlist, or Inventory
    Version DetailsData Quality
    Cover of Just Coolin', 2020-07-17, VinylJust Coolin'
    LP, Album, Stereo
    Blue Note – B003164201JK02, Blue Note – B003164201, Blue Note – 64201, Blue Note – ST-64201US2020US2020
    Recently Edited
    Cover of Just Coolin', 2020, VinylJust Coolin'
    LP, Album, Club Edition, Limited Edition, Numbered, Stereo, Gold / Red Swirl, 180g
    Blue Note – ST-64201, Blue Note – 64201, Blue Note – B0031898-01US2020US2020
    Recently Edited
    Cover of Just Coolin', 2020-07-17, CDJust Coolin'
    CD, Album, Stereo, SHM-CD
    Blue Note – UCCQ-1123Japan2020Japan2020
    New Submission
    Cover of Just Coolin', 2020-07-17, CDJust Coolin'
    CD, Album, Remastered, Stereo, Digipack
    Blue Note – 00602508650222, Blue Note – ST-64102Europe2020Europe2020
    New Submission
    Cover of Just Coolin', 2020-07-17, CDJust Coolin'
    CD, Album, Stereo
    Blue Note – B003164102, Blue Note – ST-64102US2020US2020
    New Submission
    Cover of Just Coolin', 2020-07-17, FileJust Coolin'
    6×File, AIFF, Album, 24-bit, 192 kHz
    Blue Note – none20202020
    New Submission
    Cover of Just Coolin', 2020-07-17, VinylJust Coolin'
    LP, Album, Stereo
    Blue Note – 00602508650239, Blue Note – 64201, Blue Note – ST-64201Europe2020Europe2020
    Cover of Just Coolin', 2020-08-07, SACDJust Coolin'
    SACD, Album, SHM
    Blue Note – UCGQ-9027Japan2020Japan2020
    New Submission
    Cover of Just Coolin', 2020-02-19, VinylJust Coolin'
    LP, Album, Test Pressing, Stereo
    Blue Note – B0031642-01 A2/B2, Blue Note – B0031642-01, Blue Note – 64201, Blue Note – ST-64201US2020US2020
    New Submission
    Cover of Just Coolin', , CDJust Coolin'
    CD, Album, Stereo, Gatefold CD sleeve
    Blue Note – 00602508650222, Blue Note – ST-64102EuropeEurope
    New Submission

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    Reviews

    • tippetiwitchet's avatar
      Just Coolin' by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers is a vibrant but somewhat raw gem in Blakey's extensive discography. Recorded in 1959 but shelved until its 2020 release, the album contrasts with polished classics like Moanin' and Free for All. While the playing is energetic, with standout contributions from Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley, it lacks the thematic cohesion of Blakey's more iconic works. The album feels looser and more experimental, offering a glimpse into the band's creative process rather than a fully realized statement. It's a must-listen for fans, though it may not eclipse Blakey's definitive recordings.
      • Sonodyne's avatar
        Sonodyne
        I have a music matters level pressing - highly enjoyable record!
        • Airframer's avatar
          Airframer
          Blakey, Morgan, and Mobley on their worst days sound better than 95% of jazz musicians on their best days. So although it might not be the greatest Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers album of all time, it's still well worth the price. My pressing was flawless - dead quiet vinyl, no scratches or warping, and the poly inner was a nice touch. Altogether 8.5/10.
          • jgknick's avatar
            jgknick
            Quiet vinyl, very nice record. As a huge Lee Morgan fan, I am very glad to hear this. Morgan and Mobley are their usual selves and the whole album sounds great. Any jazz fan will enjoy this record. There is no need to set low expectations. It is great music played brilliantly, recorded with high fidelity, and pressed with the pristine quality control that typifies Blue Note Classics or Tone Poet releases.
            • Monsieur_Renard's avatar
              Great sounding album. Not a big fan of Mobley, but Morgan is on fire. Songselection is okay. The production just perfect and the packageing just excellent.

              Really worth the purchase.
              • Harrison_Bergeron's avatar
                Coming from a huge fan of Blakey, Mobley, Morgan and Timmons, this album is not up to the typical standard of these genius musicians. It's still a nice artifact of the group's musical development, and lovingly given the Kevin Gray mastering treatment. But, don't expect anywhere near the same level of chemistry and artistry that's normally exhibited.

                From the (hilariously candid) words of Blue Note authority Michael Cuscuna himself on this recording session:

                “𝐀𝐡! 𝐈𝐟 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒕, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑱𝒂𝒛𝒛 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆!

                𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒖𝒑. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚’𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒅. 𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝑴𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝒆𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑨𝒓𝒕 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔, 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑺𝒐, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓.

                𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆! 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑵𝒐, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒅, 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄. 𝑶𝒃𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒓𝒆-𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘, ‘𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅.’ ”

                Oof.
                • turkishdisco's avatar
                  turkishdisco
                  Edited 2 years ago
                  OK, this album clearly doesn't cause some paradigm shift in hard bop but by no means is it "horrible", and I can't imagine why someone would say that about this album with such confidence. If you are an avid jazz listener, I can guarantee you that you have come across worse playing. If you really think that this is as bad as Michael Cuscuna portrays it to be, you will have to decide for yourself why you attach so much importance to the words of some kind of "authority". It's cheap, it's recorded crispy as all hell (those hi-hats...), and it's motherfuckin' jazz. Get it and decide for yourself.
                  • movceo's avatar
                    movceo
                    Another amazing vinyl collaboration between Kevin Gray and RTI. Simply perfect sound from beginning to end. On top of that, the record can be had for very reasonable prices. Vinyl doesn't get much better than this.
                    • BLACKY131313's avatar
                      BLACKY131313
                      this is a single-layer SHM-SACD disc, it is a disc with only a SACD layer, made of much better plastic than regular CDs.
                      This is one of Rudy Van Gelder's better productions.
                      You can hear the dynamic work of the drums, but also the natural purity of wind instruments.
                      Lee Morgan's trumpet (left) and Hank Mobley's saxophone (right) have a very nice timbre.
                      ... the whole thing is brilliant!
                      • porkpie_hat's avatar
                        porkpie_hat
                        Probably the most "Snoozin" Blakey recording ever. No wonder this one didn't get out of the can back in the day. Maybe they were all strung-out or hung over?

                        Seriously hard pass on this. It is "Just Snoozin". Oh yeah and Optimal pressings are just plain wierd. Cause my un-flappable gray research tonarm to pass strange "non-fill" crappy fart sounds. VERY disappointing.

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                        • Ratings:543
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