New Sounds
album by Max Roach
New Sounds was originally a 10-inch LP compiling previously released 78 rpm records on the Blue Note label. A CD reissue with the same name and cover appeared in 1991, but while using many of the same personnel, had only two tracks in common with the original LP. It instead compiled a distinct James Moody 10-inch LP (James Moody and his Modernists, BLP 5006) with the Art Blakey tracks and included several tracks previously unreleased on LP or any format. Conversely, the tracks omitted from the CD, which were on the Moody LP, have not been reissued on CD.
Background
In December 1947, Art Blakey formed a group for his first sessions as a leader. Dubbed Art Blakey's Messengers, this group was a precursor to The Jazz Messengers groups of the next decade and beyond. Blakey had recently gone on a pilgrimage to Africa and adopted Islam. Many of his fellow musicians had adopted the religion as well, and the "Messengers" name was a nod to the message of the religion. Five tracks were recorded during this session, four of which came out on 78s. Two of the tracks were on the original 10-inch LP, all five are on the CD.
Three of the other four tracks on the original 10-inch LP were recorded by a group billed as the Max Roach Quintet, recorded in Paris in May 1949. This group included James Moody and Kenny Dorham (who was also in Blakey's Messengers). The final track was recorded by a Moody-led group in Switzerland, in April 1949.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “New Sounds” as album by Max Roach. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as album by Max Roach. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19865461. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1991, 1947 and 1949.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “New Sounds”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow New Sounds primary sources, New Sounds archive and Sounds research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “New Sounds”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “New Sounds” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.