NA Night In Tunisia (Blue Note Classic Vinyll)

One of the greatest line-ups of drummer Art Blakey’s hard bop finishing school The Jazz Messengers coalesced in 1960 when tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter joined trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt for the recording of The Big Beat, an album that signaled the transformation of the band into a modern jazz juggernaut. In August of that year The Jazz Messengers returned to Van Gelder Studio twice for sessions that would yield the companion albums A Night In Tunisia and Like Someone In Love. A Night In Tunisia would be the first of the two to be released, and it opened with a fiery version of Dizzy Gillespie’s famous composition which was a staple of the band’s live set. The rest of the 5-song set showcased beguiling new band member originals including Shorter’s “Sincerely Diana,” Timmons’ “So Tired,” and two tunes by Morgan: “Yama” and “Kozo’s Waltz.”

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.