Basra (album)

Basra
Studio album by Pete La Roca
Released	October 1965 [1]
Recorded	May 19, 1965
Studio	Van Gelder (Englewood Cliffs)
Genre	Jazz
Length	40:43
Label	Blue Note BST 84205
Producer	Alfred Lion
Pete La Roca chronology
Basra (1965) Turkish Women at the Bath (1967)

Basra is the debut album by drummer Pete La Roca, recorded in 1965 and released on the Blue Note label. ^[2]

Background and recording

Bassist Steve Swallow recounted that he and La Roca had taken LSD prior to traveling to recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder's New Jersey studio for the session. ^[3] He also said that Van Gelder threatened to end the session after pianist Steve Kuhn started manually plucking the piano strings. ^[3]

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "It is strange to realize that drummer Pete La Roca only led two albums during the prime years of his career, for this CD reissue of his initial date is a classic". ^[4]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[5]
Down Beat	[6]

Track listing

All compositions by Pete La Roca except as noted

Basra track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Malagueña" (originally performed by Ernesto Lecuona)	9:01
2.	"Candu"	6:45
3.	"Tears Come from Heaven"	5:00
4.	"Basra"	9:58
5.	"Lazy Afternoon" (originally performed by John La Touche and Jerome Moross)	5:31
6.	"Eiderdown" (originally performed by Steve Swallow)	4:28

Personnel

• Pete La Roca - drums
• Joe Henderson - tenor saxophone
• Steve Kuhn - piano
• Steve Swallow - bass

References

1. Billboard Oct 2, 1965
2. Blue Note Records discography accessed November 23, 2010
3. Iverson, Ethan (April 7, 2021). "Chronology: Steve Swallow Remembers Pete La Roca". JazzTimes . Retrieved April 24, 2021.
4. Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed November 23, 2010
5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1302. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
6. Down Beat: December 30, 1965 vol. 32, no. 27