No room for squares
| No room for squares | ||||
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| Studio album by Hank Mobley | ||||
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Publication |
June 6, 1964 |
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admission |
March 7 (+) and October 2, 1963 |
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| Label (s) | Blue Note Records (BLP 4149) | |||
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Format (s) |
LP, CD |
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running time |
42:12 (LP) / 51:38 (Bonus CD) |
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Studio (s) |
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No Room for Squares is the 13th album by tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley for the jazz label Blue Note Records . It was written in March and October 1963 during two sessions with the prominent participation of the trumpeters Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan as well as the pianists Herbie Hancock and Andrew Hill .
Album title
In jive-talk or jazz jargon of the sixties, when the album was created, all people who were not “hip”, ie the philistines or “square skulls”, were referred to as “square”. The album title acquires a second meaning when you consider that records are round, but are in a square record cover. The cover design by Reid Miles using a black and white photo by label co-owner Francis Wolff playfully takes up these levels of meaning.
background
Hank Mobley had worked with Miles Davis ' pianist Wynton Kelly on the previous albums . This resulted in timeless records such as Peckin 'Time , Soul Station , Roll Call and Workout . But Wynton Kelly broke away from Miles Davis in 1963 and founded his own band with bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb . As a band leader , he was not available for a session.
Mobley resorted to the new house pianist at Blue Note, Herbie Hancock, ten years his junior. At the session of March 7, 1963 they played several pieces with Donald Byrd and Butch Warren, of which the two original compositions Up a Step and Old World, New Imports were used for the album. Four more pieces landed on the follow-up The Turnaround! , including East of the Village and The Good Life . Mobley returned the favor two weeks later - on March 19 - for Hancock's support and accompanied the pianist on his second album My Point of View .
At the October 1963 session, Mobley was accompanied by pianist Andrew Hill of the same age and trumpeter Lee Morgan, who had already worked on the album Peckin 'Time four years earlier . The recorded pieces form the majority of the record. Unused tracks from both sessions appeared posthumously on the bonus CD of the album Straight No Filter in 2001.
reception
Thom Jurek from AllMusic writes: “All eight cuts here move with similar fluidity and offer a very gritty and realistic approach to the roots of hard bop. Highly recommended. “He gives the album 4 out of 5 stars.
The user rating is higher with 5 stars and 110 ratings. In the audience's favor, No Room for Squares ranks right after Mobley's album Soul Station .
title
All compositions are by Hank Mobley or Lee Morgan. The recordings were made on March 7, 1963 (+) and October 2, 1963 (all others).
- page A
- 1. Three Way Split - 7:49
- 2. Carolyn - 5:30 (Lee Morgan)
- 3. Up a Step - 8:31 (+)
- Side B
- 4. No Room for Squares - 6:57
- 5. Me 'N You - 7:17 (Lee Morgan)
- 6. Old World, New Imports - 6:08 (+)
- CD bonus tracks
- 7. Carolyn (Alternate take) - 5:35 (Lee Morgan)
- 8. No Room for Squares (Alternate take) - 6:45
production
- Producer: Alfred Lion
- Sound engineer: Rudy Van Gelder
- Photographer: Francis Wolff
- Design: Reid Miles
- Liner Notes: Joe Goldberg
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Review by Thom Jurek on allmusic.com (accessed January 15, 2019).