Pittsburgh Courier : 12/08/1956
Harold L. Keith : 3 stars

This swinging group gives a nice treatment to a quartet of opuses including Weeja, Polka Dot and Moonbeams, On It, and Avalon.

As is so often the case with groups of this type, they play good jazz but somehow lack the drive which is needed to make the listener cock his ear for a second time.

Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley‘s efforts are noteworthy and Philly Jo Jones‘ drums make interesting sounds.

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Down Beat : 11/14/1956
Nat Hentoff : 3 stars

Informal Jazz involves pianist Hope, tenorists Hank Mobley and John Coltrane, and Philly Joe Jones. The rhythm section, like the bullfighters of Hemingway, move with fierce dedication through the moments of truth. I would only with that engineer Rudy Van Gelder had realized that Jones and Chambers are muscular men who do not hold back their sound and, accordingly, had revised his balance. The rhythm section is somewhat overrecorded in places.

Hope is a forceful, sometimes impressive soloist, and is interestingly thoughtful in Polka Dots. Trumpeter Byrd, who should gain in assurance as the years gather, often continues to intrigue with his conception.

The two tenors are apostles of the hard-swinging, hard-tones approach. The more rewarding of the two here appears to me to be Coltrane, who is with the Miles Davis band, and has improved considerably in the last year. Coltrane has an expansive (albeit hard) breadth of tone and attack, whereas Mobley is by contrast rather muffled. Both, however, have yet to attain a personal conception that is sufficiently arresting as to be immediately self-identifying.

Prestige’s covers, by the way, have improved since the advent of Tom Hanan as art director. I would recommend this set except that there aren’t many things here you haven’t heard rather often before.

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Liner Notes by Ira Gitler

Friday is Prestige Day at Van Gelder’s. Either recording, tape editing or master cutting is carried on. The Friday that this particular sessions was cut, the gathering was an informal one. Many of the musicians had played together before and the ones who hadn’t were familiar with each other’s work.

Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley had played together in the Jazz Messengers and John Coltrane, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones represent, numerically, a majority vote in the Miles Davis quintet. Elmo Hope and Joe are old buddies, having played together in Joe Morris‘ band and in countless sessions, then and since. No introductions were necessary between the players but to you, the audience, it would be an oversight if they were omitted.

Elmo Hope, the nominal leader on the date, is a native New Yorker who grew up with Bud Powell. With the Joe Morris band in the Forties, Elmo has done mostly freelance playing in the Fifties appearing occasionally with Dud Bascomb. Other Prestige LPs: 7021 (Hope Meets Foster), 7035 (Jackie McLean) 7010 (Meditations, Elmo Hope Trio).

Donald Byrd is another of the recent Detroit imports to New York. Still in his early twenties, Donald studied at famed Cass Tech High in Detroit and continued at the Manhattan School in New York. He first appeared with George Wallington at Café Bohemia in 1955 and later replaced Kenny Dorham in the Jazz Messengers. Other Prestige LPs: 7035 (Jackie McLean), 7032 (George Wallington).

Henry “Hank” Mobley was born in Georgia but raised in New Jersey. Played with Paul Gayten‘s r&b band but first attracted attention with Max Roach‘s combo in the early Fifties. After playing with Dizzy Gillespie for most of 1954, he joined Horace Silver‘s quartet late in that year. This group evolved into the Jazz Messengers of which Hank was a regular member until he left midway in 1956.

John Coltrane is from Philadelphia. Born in North Carolina, he moved to the Quaker City at an early age. In that city he studied at both the Granoff and Ornstein music schools. “Trane” as he is known, played with Eddie Vinson in 1947-48, Dizzy Gillespie 49-51, Earl Bostic 52-53, Johnny Hodges 53-54 and has been with Miles Davis since 1955. Other Prestige LPs: 7014 (Miles Davis).

Paul Chambers. Born in Pittsburgh but spent most of his life in Detroit before coming to New York in 1954. Worked with Bennie Green, Jay and Kai and George Wallington. With Miles Davis group since 1955. Considered to be the new star on his instrument, Paul is equally adept at plucked or bowed solos. Two of the latter are his contributions in this set. Other Prestige LPs: 7014 (Miles Davis), 7052 (Bennie Green).

Philly Joe Jones is, as you’ve surmised, from the City of Brotherly Love. As mentioned before, he was with Elmo in Joe Morris’ band. Joe came to prominence in the Fifties with Tony Scott‘s combo and Tadd Dameron‘s band. Since late 1955 he has been swinging the Miles Davis quintet along with Chambers. Other Prestige LPs: 7017 (Art Farmer), 7014, 7007 (Miles Davis).

In keeping with the informal format, the tunes are mainly vehicles for blowing. The two originals Weeja and On It are by Elmo. Both are riffers which expedite the blowing. Weeja has everyone “confirming” Bird’s word and On It is a blues. Polka Dots and Moonbeams has that after a love affair feeling – a kind of reminiscing over what no longer is but how wonderful were those moments, nevertheless. Avalon lends itself to swinging admirably. Weeja and On It revive the tenor battle which died when Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons broke up. It’s still a stimulating tournament and Hank and Trane make it interesting because although they are both in a general idiom they are as different as two men in a similar area can be.