Beat Review by Jason Ankeny

Recorded for Berry Gordy's short-lived Workshop Jazz imprint, Roy Brooks' simply but authoritatively titled Beat fuses the intellectual rigors of the modern idiom with the physical prowess of soul-jazz to create a record of uncommon scope and reach. Working with Horace Silver Quintet colleagues Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, and Gene Taylor alongside Detroit contemporaries George Bohannon and Hugh Lawson, Brooks channels influences spanning the breadth of the Motor City scene, resulting in a clutch of challenging but engaging performances with the unmistakable patina of the embryonic Motown sound. While their technical proficiency is stunning, Brooks' rhythms never lose sight of the almighty groove, and for its hard bop stridency, the record has the proverbial good beat and you can dance to it.

#roybrooks #bluemitchell #juniorcook #jazz #hardbop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frtJI8jHW6w&list=PLyHn3f7-9IUJXgYAYlbrgkegbbhiZjn_A&index=1&pp=iAQB8AUB

Blue Mitchell - "Blue's Moods" (1960)

#NowPlaying #BlueMitchell #WyntonKelly #SamJones #RoyBrooks #jazz #vinyl #vinylrecords @vinylrecords

https://youtu.be/37xWNwXxMqk?si=BWwxQ1jryeapz3Xp

#NowPlaying Roy Brooks - Beat (Workshop Jazz, US 1964 mono).

Killer hard bop record with an almighty groove, released on Motown's jazz imprint Workshop Jazz label.

#RoyBrooks
#WorkshopJazzrecords
#MotownRecords

Roy Brooks w/ Woody Shaw, Carlos Garnett, Harold Mabern, and Cecil McBee - "Understanding" 3xlp #NowPlaying #RoyBrooks #WoodyShaw #CarlosGarnett #HaroldMabern #CecilMcBee #vinyl #vinylrecords #jazz @vinylrecords

Live recording of 1970 performance in Baltimore, MD. Amazing performance, hard bop meets free jazz? I'm always amazed how many jazz musicians have Detroit roots - I can add Brooks to that list.