View source for Harold in the Land of Jazz

{{Short description|1958 album by Harold Land}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Harold in the Land of Jazz
| type       = Album
| artist     = [[Harold Land]]
| cover      = Harold in the Land of Jazz.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = 1958
| recorded   = January 13–14, 1958
| venue      =
| studio     = Contemporary Records Studio, Los Angeles, California
| genre      = [[Jazz]]
| length     = 47:11
| label      = [[Contemporary Records|Contemporary]]<small> C 3550</small>
| producer   = Lester Koenig
| chronology = [[Harold Land]]
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| next_title = [[The Fox (Harold Land album)|The Fox]]
| next_year  = 1959
}}
'''''Harold in the Land of Jazz''''' (also released as '''''Grooveyard''''') is the debut studio album by saxophonist [[Harold Land]], recorded in 1958 and released on the [[Contemporary Records|Contemporary]] label.<ref name="Contemporary Records discography">[http://www.jazzdisco.org/contemporary-records/catalog-3500-7500-series/#c-3550 Contemporary Records Catalog: 3500/7500 series] accessed February 1, 2016</ref><ref>Fitzgerald, M. [http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Leaders/LandHarold-ldr.php Harold Land Leader Discography] February 1, 2016</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Carr |first1=Ian |last2=Fairweather |first2=Digby |last3=Priestley |first3=Brian |last4=Alexander |first4=Charles |title=The Rough Guide to Jazz |date=2004 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=978-1-84353-256-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetojazz00carr/page/462 462] |url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetojazz00carr |url-access=registration |quote=Harold in the Land of Jazz. |accessdate=3 December 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
== Background ==
Land's band on the album included jazz pianist [[Carl Perkins (pianist)|Carl Perkins]] (not to be confused with the American Rockabilly singer and songwriter of the same name) in one of his final appearances on record. Perkins died two months after the recording session. The original LP cover showed Land playing his saxophone in front of the [[Watts Towers]], which at the time had been condemned by the City of Los Angeles and were in danger of being destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|last1=de Arend|first1=Lucien|title=The History of the Watts Towers|url=http://www.wattstowers.us/history.htm|website=Watts Towers by Sam Rodia|publisher=Cultural Affairs Dept. Watts Center|accessdate=June 13, 2017}}</ref>
==Reception==
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Allmusic"/>
| rev2 = [[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull]]
| rev2score = B+<ref>{{cite web |title=Tom Hull: Grade List: Harold Land |url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/get_gl.php?n=harold+land | publisher=[[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull]] |accessdate=10 July 2020}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings]]''
|rev3score  = {{Rating|3|4}}<ref name="Penguin">{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Richard |authorlink1=Richard Cook (journalist) |last2=Morton |first2=Brian |authorlink2=Brian Morton (Scottish writer) |title=[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz|The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings]] |year=2008 |edition=9th |publisher=[[Penguin Books|Penguin]] |isbn=978-0-141-03401-0 |page=862}}</ref>
}}
The [[AllMusic]] review by Scott Yanow states: "Land shows that hard bop was very much alive in Los Angeles in the late '50s. His tone is cooler and softer than it would become later on, but it was already pretty distinctive".<ref name="Allmusic">{{AllMusic|first=Scott |last=Yanow |class=album |id=mw0000653140 |title=''Harold in the Land of Jazz'' – Review |accessdate=February 1, 2016}}</ref>
==Track listing==
''All compositions by Harold Land except as indicated''
# "[[Speak Low]]" ([[Kurt Weill]], [[Ogden Nash]]) - 5:35
# "Delirium" - 6:40
# "[[You Don't Know What Love Is]]" ([[Gene de Paul]], [[Don Raye]]) - 3:55
# "Nieta" (Elmo Hope) - 4:35
# "Grooveyard" (Carl Perkins) - 7:02
# "Lydia's Lament" - 5:46
# "Smack Up" - 7:11
# "Promised Land" - 6:27 <small>Bonus track on CD reissue</small>
==Personnel==
*[[Harold Land]] - [[tenor saxophone]]
*[[Rolf Ericson]] - [[trumpet]]
*[[Carl Perkins (pianist)|Carl Perkins]] - [[piano]]
*[[Leroy Vinnegar]] - [[double bass|bass]]
*[[Frank Butler (musician)|Frank Butler]] - [[drum kit|drums]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Harold Land|state=autocollapse}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Contemporary Records albums]]
[[Category:Harold Land albums]]
[[Category:1958 albums]]