"Wow!" was my first reaction as the music began to pour out of my loudspeakers from the Music Matters 45-RPM reissue of the Blue Note hardbop jazz album The Jazz Messengers - At The Cafe Bohemia Volume 1 that was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, and mastered for this release by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman.

This wonderful recording of The Jazz Messengers (Art Blakey on drums, Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor sax, Horace Silver on piano, and Doug Watkins on bass) was recorded live at the Greenwich Village jazz club, the Café Bohemia in 1955.

I absolutely love the extra life that the live club recordings coax out of the musicians, because nothing beats appreciative audiences for getting the best out of musicians, and you hear that in spades in The Jazz Messengers - At The Cafe Bohemia Volume 1.

This is fantastic music, and Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray lavished tender loving care on producing this 45-RPM reissue album, giving it a full, rich, natural, and musical balance that is to die for!

For a little fun audio geekery you might want to see how adept your hi-fi system is at highlighting changes in tempo. Did you notice the intermittent doubling of the tempo in Soft Winds?

After hearing this 45-RPM Music Matters reissue of The Jazz Messengers - At The Cafe Bohemia Volume 1 I definitely intend to check out more of their offerings.

Highly recommended!