A Night at Birdland Vol. 2

A Night at Birdland Vol. 2 is a 1954 release by jazz drummer Art Blakey, and a quintet which featured Clifford Brown, Lou Donaldson, Horace Silver and Curley Russell. It was first released by Blue Note Records as a 10" LP (BLP 5038). Two years later, the three 10" LPs in the set were reissued as 2 12" LPs; the 12" Vol. 2 is BLP 1521. Two of the three tracks ("Mayreh" and "A Night in Tunisia") of the original 10" Vol. 2 were included in the 12" Vol. 1. The 12" Vol. 2 incorporates all three tracks from the 10" A Night at Birdland Vol. 3 plus a previously unreleased alternate take of "Quicksilver."

A Night at Birdland Vol. 2
Live album by Art Blakey
Released	October 1954 (10") December 1956 (12")[1]
Recorded	February 21, 1954
Venue	Birdland, New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	22:58
Label	Blue Note
Producer	Alfred Lion
Art Blakey chronology
A Night at Birdland Vol. 1 (1954) A Night at Birdland Vol. 2 (1954) A Night at Birdland Vol. 3 (1954)
Original 12" cover
Second 12" cover

A Night at Birdland Vol. 2 was reissued for the first time on CD in 1987 with two additional tracks ("The Way You Look Tonight" and "Lou's Blues"). "The Way You Look Tonight" had been previously released on a 2 LP Compilation in 1975 called Live Messengers (BN-LA473-J2). The CD was reissued again in 2001 as an "RVG Edition" remastered by Rudy Van Gelder with the tracks in a different order. The 1987 CD used the second 12" LP cover, the 2001 CD revived the original 10" LP cover.[2]

All of the music surfaced as part of a Clifford Brown box set for Mosaic Records (MR5-104) and a complete Clifford Brown set put out by Capitol has also appeared.

The recording was produced by Alfred Lion and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder for Blue Note.

Track listing

10" LP

Side 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Wee-Dot"	J. J. Johnson, Leo Parker	7:19
2.	"Mayreh"	Horace Silver	6:19

Side 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
3.	"A Night in Tunisia"	Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli	9:20

12" LP

Side 1

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Wee Dot"		J.J. Johnson, Leo Parker	7:19
2.	"If I Had You" (Originally released on A Night at Birdland Vol. 3 [BLP 5039])	Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly	Ted Shapiro	3:31
3.	"Quicksilver [alternate master]" (previously unreleased)		Horace Silver	8:46

Side 2

No.	Title	Music	Length
4.	"Now's the Time" (Originally released on A Night at Birdland Vol. 3 [BLP 5039])	Charlie Parker	9:02
5.	"Confirmation" (Originally released on A Night at Birdland Vol. 3 [BLP 5039])	Charlie Parker	9:12
Total length:			32:31

CD Reissues

1987 Edition

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Wee Dot"		J.J. Johnson, Leo Parker	7:19
2.	"If I Had You"	Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly	Ted Shapiro	3:31
3.	"Quicksilver [alternate master]"		Horace Silver	8:46
4.	"The Way You Look Tonight" (previously released on Live Messengers [BN-LA473-J2])	Dorothy Fields	Jerome Kern	9:59
5.	"Lou's Blues" (previously released on A Night at Birdland Vol. 3 [Toshiba (Japan), BNJ-61002])		Lou Donaldson	3:58
6.	"Now's the Time"		Charlie Parker	9:02
7.	"Confirmation"		Charlie Parker	9:12

2001 RVG Edition

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Wee Dot"		J.J. Johnson, Leo Parker	7:19
2.	"If I Had You"	Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly	Ted Shapiro	3:31
3.	"Quicksilver [alternate master]"		Horace Silver	8:46
4.	"Now's the Time"		Charlie Parker	9:02
5.	"Confirmation"		Charlie Parker	9:12
6.	"The Way You Look Tonight" (previously released on Live Messengers [BN-LA473-J2])	Dorothy Fields	Jerome Kern	9:59
7.	"Lou's Blues" (previously released on A Night at Birdland Vol. 3 [Toshiba (Japan), BNJ-61002])		Lou Donaldson	3:58

Personnel

Art Blakey Quintet:

• Art Blakey — drums
• Clifford Brown — trumpet
• Lou Donaldson — alto saxophone
• Horace Silver — piano
• Curley Russell — bass

Production:

• Bob Bluementhal, Leonard Feather — liner notes
• Michael Cuscuna — reissue producer
• John Hermansader, Reid Miles — cover design
• Alfred Lion — producer
• Ron McMaster — digital transfers
• Rudy Van Gelder — engineer, mastering
• Francis Wolff — photography

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Penguin Guide to Jazz
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
Tom Hull	A–[5]

The two albums that were released from the Birdland are considered by The Penguin Guide to Jazz to be part of their "core collection". Allaboutjazz.com reviewer said it simply with "Blakey and company had clicked that night at Birdland."[6] Allmusic mentions that, on this second album, "all of the musicians are inspired, none more than Blakey."[7]

References

1. Billboard Jan 5, 1957
2. A Night at Birdland Vol. 2 at Discogs (list of releases)
3. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 25. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
4. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
5. Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Jazz (1940–50s) (Reference)". tomhull.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
6. Michael Fortuna. "A Night At Birdland, Vols. 1 and 2". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
7. Scott Yanow. "A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1". Retrieved 2006-12-31.

External links

• A Night at Birdland Vol. 2 at AllMusic