Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Ritual +2 (1957) {Japan Pacific Jazz CP32-5374, Early Press}
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© 1957, 1988 Pacific Jazz / Toshiba-EMI | CP32-5374
Jazz / Hard Bop / Drums

A hard-swinging cooker from Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – recorded during the landmark year of 1957 – when Blakey's group was open to recording for a number of different labels, in a number of different settings! The set was originally done for the west coast stalwart Pacific Jazz, but it's got a sound that's much more in the hardbop mode of the New York scene – all the fire and intensity that Blakey first cooked up for Blue Note, cast out with a slight sense of openness here in the less iconic setting. Players include Jackie McLean on alto, Bill Hardman on trumpet, and Sam Dockery on piano – and the album's right up there with Vik/RCA, Savoy, and Chess material they cut at the time.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Meet You At The Jazz Corner Of The World (1960) {2CD Set Rudy Van Gelder Remaster rel 2002}
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© 1960, 2002 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 35565 2 5
Jazz / Hard Bop

Not to be confused with At the Jazz Corner of the World, the Messengers' 1959 Birdland recording (which featured tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley), Meet was recorded the following year at the band's favored venue with the still-rawboned tenorist Wayne Shorter joining trumpeter Lee Morgan on an explosive front line. Originally released in separate volumes but here presented as a two-CD set, the album maintains the Messengers' ties to the underappreciated Mobley via three originals that he never recorded himself. The emphasis is less on catchy tunes than full-bore blowing, with the rhythm section of Bobby Timmons, Jymie Merritt, and the unbeatable Blakey plumbing their bag of hard-bop tricks to push the music through the grooves.

Originally released in 1963, “Caravan” was Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers' first album for Riverside Records. Featured in addition to Blakey are Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Wayne Shorter (sax), Cedar Walton (piano) and Reggie Workman (bass). This reissue features remastered audio from the original master tapes and is available on 192/24 hi res digital.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - The Last Drum Solo (1990) {Timeless Japan ALCR-76 rec 1978-1990}
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© 1990 Timeless Records / Alfa Records Japan | ALCR-76
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop

Art Blakey, also called Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, (born October 11, 1919, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died October 16, 1990, New York, New York), American drummer and bandleader noted for his extraordinary drum solos, which helped define the offshoot of bebop known as “hard bop” and gave the drums a significant solo status. His style was characterized by thunderous press rolls, cross beats, and drum rolls that began as quiet tremblings and grew into frenzied explosions.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Drivin' Hard In Zurich (1958) {Hard Note HD041258 rel 2009}
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© 1958, 2009 Hard Note | HD041258
Jazz / Hard Bop

The late 50's were a prime period for Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and in 1958 this group features emerging stars trumpeter Lee Morgan, Benny Golson on tenor and pianist Bobby Timmons, and the 1958 version of The Jazz Messengers was widely recorded during their stay in Euroupe, so this CD contains some of the better uptempo arrangements in the Blakey book as I Remember Clifford, Along Came Betty, Moanin' and Whisper Not. Hard bop at its best, and all of them propelled by the powerful drumming of Art Blakey.