At the Half Note Cafe

At the Half Note Cafe
At the Half Note Cafe
Live album by Donald Byrd
Released	1961
Recorded	November 11, 1960
Venue	Half Note Cafe, NYC
Genre	Jazz
Length	121:26 (Double CD reissue)
Label	Blue Note; BLP 4060 (Vol. 1); BLP 4061 (Vol. 2)
Donald Byrd chronology

At the Half Note Cafe, Vols. 1 & 2 are a pair of separate but related live albums by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded at the Half Note in Manhattan on November 11, 1960 and released on Blue Note the following year. Byrd's quintet features saxophonist Pepper Adams and rhythm section Duke Pearson, Laymon Jackson and Lex Humphries.¹

Release history

The albums were later reissued as a double CD set, At the Half Note Cafe, Volumes 1&2.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	²
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	³

The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek states, "This was a hot quintet, one that not only swung hard, but possessed a deep lyricism and an astonishing sense of timing, and one need only this set by them to feel the full measure of their worth."²

The Penguin Guide to Jazz says the sessions were "impeccable played and atmospherically recorded, but they tend to show off the best and worst of Byrd: ... he peels off chorus after chorus of manicured licks, and the process gets repeated throughout".³

Track listing

At the Half Note Cafe, Volume 1

All tracks are written by Donald Byrd.

Side 1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"My Girl Shirl"	Duke Pearson
2.	"Soulful Kiddy"

Side 2
No.	Title	Writer(s)
1.	"A Portrait of Jennie"	Gordon Burdge J. Russel Robinson
2.	"Cecile"
3.	"The Theme"

At the Half Note Cafe, Volume 2

Side 1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Jeannine"	Duke Pearson
2.	"Pure D. Funk"

Side 2
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Kimyas"
2.	"When Sonny Gets Blue"	Marvin Fisher Jack Segal

At the Half Note Cafe, Volumes 1&2

All tracks are written by Donald Byrd, except as noted.

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Introduction by Ruth Mason"		1:20
2.	"My Girl Shirl"	Duke Pearson	10:32
3.	"Soulful Kiddy"		9:55
4.	"Child's Play"	Byrd Pearson	8:45
5.	"Chant"	Pearson	11:03
6.	"A Portrait of Jennie"	Gordon Burdge J. Russel Robinson	6:48
7.	"Cecile"		14:46

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Jeannine"	Oscar Brown, Jr. Pearson	13:08
2.	"Pure D. Funk"		6:09
3.	"Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea"	Harold Arlen Ted Koehler	9:54
4.	"Theme from Mr. Lucky"	Henry Mancini	10:51
5.	"Kimyas"		11:58
6.	"When Sunny Gets Blue"	Marvin Fisher Jack Segal	6:17

Personnel

Musicians

Donald Byrd – trumpet
Pepper Adams – baritone saxophone
Duke Pearson – piano
Laymon Jackson – bass
Lex Humphries – drums

Technical personnel

Alfred Lion – producer
Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer, mastering
Reid Miles – cover design
Francis Wolff – photography
Leonard Feather – liner notes

References

Donald Byrd discography accessed August 31, 2010
Jurek, T. Allmusic Review accessed January 4, 2013
Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-14-015364-4.

[Byrd_discography-1] Donald Byrd discography accessed August 31, 2010

[Allmusic-2] Jurek, T. Allmusic Review accessed January 4, 2013

[Penguin1-3] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette (1st ed.). Penguin. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-14-015364-4.

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