Universal Music and Third Man have partnered to resurrect the popular reissue series Verve By Request, focusing on rare gems and fan-requested jazz albums from the Verve Group’s iconic labels. Albums will be newly remastered from original analog sources when available, and pressed on audiophile-quality, 180-gram vinyl at Third Man Pressing in Detroit.

• Verve By Request Series
• 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Cut by Ryan K. Smith At Sterling Sound
• Pressed by Third Man Pressing, USA

Verve Records/UMe and Third Man Records have partnered to resurrect the popular reissue series, Verve By Request, with a vinyl twist. Focusing on rare gems and fan-requested jazz albums from the Verve Label Group’s stable of iconic labels, the series will offer two titles per month – each hand-picked by Verve and Third Man Records. The records will include both long-out-of-print titles from the vault as well as the first-ever vinyl pressings for albums released in the ‘90s and aughts that were only originally released on CD. Albums will be newly remastered from original analog sources, when available, and pressed on audiophile-quality, 180-gram vinyl at Third Man Pressing in Detroit. 

Recorded for Berry Gordy's short-lived Workshop Jazz imprint and recorded at the Hitsville USA studio, Roy Brooks (joined by fellow Detroit natives George Bohannon and Hugh Lawson, along with Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, and Eugene Taylor) injects a Motor City soul-jazz groove into the hard-bop root of this engaging 1964 album.

Recorded at Motown's legendary Hitsville USA studio for Workshop Jazz — Berry Gordy's short-lived jazz imprint — Beat marks Roy Brooks' debut as a leader and finds the innovative drummer fusing his hard bop roots with a Motor City soul-jazz groove. Brooks, who served as a sideman for Horace Silver, Yusef Lateef, and Chet Baker, among others, is joined by fellow Detroit natives George Bohannon (trombone) and Hugh Lawson (piano), along with his Horace Silver Quintet bandmates: Blue Mitchell (trumpet), Junior Cook (tenor saxophone), and Eugene Taylor (bass). Together, they deliver a high-energy set that features tracks written by Brooks, Joe Henderson, and Duke Pearson. Notably, the track "Soulsphere" was composed by Alice McLeod (erroneously credited as "McCloud" on the sleeve), who would blaze a new musical path a few years later as the incomparable Alice Coltrane. Hailed by AllMusic as "a record of uncommon scope and reach," Beat is the first official reissue of any Workshop Jazz album.

...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....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. -Jason Ankeny, AllMusic.com, 4/5 stars

Drummer Roy Brooks didn't make many albums as a bandleader during his long life, preferring instead to remain the galvanizing force behind artists like Chet Baker, Shirley Scott and Yusef Lateef. But when he did step to the fore, Brooks was responsible for some formidable work. His first foray taking top billing, 1964's Beat has been a long overlooked pearl of jazz's bop years. Brooks worked with a trusted group of players, including pianist Hugh Lawson, trumpeter Blue Mitchell and saxophonist Junior Cook, to produce a temperamental collection of tunes with enough swing for the dancers, enough blues for the lonely set and enough complexity for students of the culture. Pay particular attention to 'Passin' The Buck,' the lone Brooks composition on this set. It plays out like a resting in a pool of water that is slowly increasing in temperature thanks to heated solos from the horn players and a bubbly melody that keeps joyously spilling over the edges. -Robert Ham, Paste Magazine

Musicians:

Blue Mitchell - trumpet
George Bohanon - trombone
Junior Cook - tenor sax
Hugh Lawson - piano
Eugene Taylor - bass
Roy Brooks - drums

Track Listing:

1. Homestretch
2. If You Could See Me Now
3. Passin’ The Buck
4. Soulin’
5. Soulsphere
6. My Secret Passion

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫