Blue Note session · in the studio
May 6, 1955
Herbie Nichols Trio
In the room
- Herbie Nichols – piano
Al McKibbon – bass
Art Blakey – drums
The takes
3 of these 9 takes stayed in the vault at the time: alternates and tunes that weren't issued. Switch to hear only the ones that came out on the records.
What the numbers mean
BN308-2 is a matrix number: Blue Note gave every tune it recorded the next number in one running series (BN308 is "Humph"), and the figure after the dash is which take of that tune was kept. Early on the series starts each tune's takes at 0, so -0 is usually the first try.
tk. 5 is the take as counted through the whole day, from the first tune to the last: the way the studio's log and, from the mid-1950s, Rudy Van Gelder's tapes number them. Later dates have only these.
On the earliest records (1939–40) the numbers in the matrix place, like 486A-1 or GM535-6, are the masters' numbers from the studios and pressing plants Blue Note used before it had its own series.
| Matrix · take | Title | First out on |
|---|---|---|
| tk. 1 | The Third World | BLP 5068 |
| tk. 2 | The Third World (alternate take) | Not issued at the time · later on Mosaic MR5-118 |
| tk. 3 | Step Tempest | BLP 5068 |
| tk. 4 | Dance Line | BLP 5068 |
| tk. 6 | Blue Chopsticks | BLP 5068 |
| tk. 8 | Double Exposure (alternate take) | Not issued at the time · later on Mosaic MR5-118 |
| tk. 9 | Double Exposure | BLP 5068 |
| tk. 10 | Cro-Magnon Nights | BLP 5068 |
| tk. 11 | Cro-Magnon Nights (alternate take) | Not issued at the time · later on Mosaic MR5-118 |
Where it ended up
Together elsewhere
The other albums at least two of these players are on together.
The whole band 1 album
| No. | Title | Leader | Year | Who | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | BLP 5069 | The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 2 | Herbie Nichols Trio | 1955 | Herbie Nichols, Al McKibbon, Art Blakey |
2 of them 5 albums
| No. | Title | Leader | Year | Who | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | BLP 5009 | Genius Of Modern Music Vol. 2 | Thelonious Monk | 1952 | Al McKibbon, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 5011 | Wizard Of The Vibes | Milt Jackson | 1952 | Al McKibbon, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 1509 | Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet | Milt Jackson | 1956 | Al McKibbon, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 1511 | Genius of Modern Music Volume 2 | Thelonious Monk | 1956 | Al McKibbon, Art Blakey |
 | BLP 1519 | Herbie Nichols Trio | Herbie Nichols | 1956 | Herbie Nichols, Al McKibbon |