(Bebop, Hard Bop) Kenny Clarke - Klook's Clique (Donald Byrd, John La Porta) - 1956, MP3, 320 kbps

Clarke began experimenting with moving the time-keeping role from the combination of snare drum or hi-hat and bass drum to embellished quarter notes on the ride cymbal, the familiar "ding-ding-da-ding" pattern, which Clarke is often credited with inventing. This new approach incorporated the bombs, or syncopated accents on the bass drum, developed by Jo Jones, while further freeing up the left hand to play more syncopated figures. Under Roy Eldridge, who encouraged this new approach to time keeping, Clarke wrote a series of exercises for himself to develop the independence of the bass drum and snare drum, while maintaining the time on the ride cymbal. One of these passages, a combination of a rim shot on the snare followed directly by a bass drum accent, earned Clarke his nickname, "Klook", which was short for "Klook-mop", in imitation of the sound this combination produced.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2538WM2YPKY2T
This Kenny Clarke-led album is swinging hard bop that holds it own against anything Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers were recording during this period - or after. In fact I cannot help but think that the first track, Volcano, is an homage to Blakey since his nickname was "The Volcano" because of his explosive playing. The reason I think this is Clarke is uncharacteristically busy on the drums. He is normally a genius in the pocket, but some of the press rolls on that track inspired me to pause the album and jump on my drum kit for intense practice.
It's a shame that there are no sound samples that would give a taste of this album because everyone on this album was performing at peak. More importantly, every musician was given ample space to stretch out, so while the music is tight and perfect it feels more like a jam session than a recording session.
One thing that I love about this album is how it brings Donald Byrd back into focus for me. I keep forgetting what a lyrical sound he gets from his trumpet. Some of the verses he played truly moved me. John LaPorta's alto was equally as lyrical on this album. I have not delved deeply into his body of work, but this album inspires me to do just that because I love his sound. The rhythm section here is easily the equal of the melody instruments. In fact, Ronnie Ball's piano was as melodic (and harmonic) as the trumpet and alto in places. With bassist Wendell Marshall and Klook on drums the pulse is intense and the rhythm positively swings. In other words, this is everything you would expect from Clarke and more. He was much more than a drummer. He was also a pianist and someone who deeply knew music theory and applied it as both a session leader and drummer.
This alum was recorded for Savoy in NYC on February 6, 1956 with no extra takes. It was released the same year as catalog number MG 12065 and clocks in at 33:36. This album, like the original release, has no bonus tracks and is sequenced as follows:
A1 Volcano
A2 La Porto-Thority
A3 I Hear A Rhapsody
B1 Will Wail
B2 Yesterdays
B3 Play Fiddle Play

Kenny Clarke - drums, leader;
John La Porta - alto sax;
Donald Byrd - trumpet;
Ronnie Ball - piano;
Wendell Marshall - bass.
Recorded February 6, 1956, Rudy Van Gelder - Engineer