Description
2022 reissue, 12″ LP, Verve Records/Workshop Jazz/UMG.
Roy Brooks was a staple of Detroit’s jazz scene – a gifted drummer who worked with Chet Baker, Charles Mingus, Horace Silver and more besides. He recorded Beat for Berry Gordy’s short-lived Workshop Jazz label in the Hitsville USA studio, joined by George Bohanon, Hugh Lawson, Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook and Eugene Taylor. Given the interwoven shared history of these players, Beat manifested as a cohesive fusion of hard bop and soul jazz which left a mark when it came out in 1964, and it still packs a punch in the modern era thanks to this high-grade reissue courtesy of Third Man, making this a true Motor City product. – Juno
