Art+blakey

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Hard Bop (2006)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 452 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 151 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300dpi (png) -> 24 Mb
Mosaic Records | Mosaic MCD-1005
Jazz / Hard Bop

After the dissolution of the original Jazz Messengers, Art Blakey formed a new edition with Jackie McLean, Bill Hardman, Sam Dockery and Spanky De Brest. It's fitting that their first album would carry the title Hard Bop because that is what they and every subsequent line-up of the Jazz Messengers came to typify.

Beyond Blakey's always magnificent and contoured drumming, this quintet's strongest asset was the beautiful, tart blend of Jackie McLean's alto sax and Bill Hardman's trumpet. They phrased together with a forward thrust and their brash, peppery tones created a distinctive front-line sound.

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers - Not Yet (1988) {Soul Note JCD12 rel 2005}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 325 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 126 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 7 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1988, 2005 JazzIt / Soul Note | JCD12
Jazz / Hard Bop / Drums

The 1988 edition of The Jazz Messengers, which drummer Art Blakey had been leading for 33 years, showed a great deal of promise. Comprised of trumpeter Philip Harper (soon to form The Harper Brothers), trombonist Robin Eubanks, the tenor of Javon Jackson, pianist Benny Green and bassist Peter Washington, this band (whose average age without counting Blakey was around 25) performs one original apiece by Green and Jackson along with five older songs on this enjoyable release. The music may not have contained too many surprises or been startlingly new, but the results are quite pleasing.

This live set from the original Birdland finds Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers at the peak of their powers with one of their strongest lineups. The group primarily recorded sessions for Alfred Lion's Blue Note label...

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Indestructible (1964) {2003 Blue Note RVG Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 320 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 106 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 34 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1964, 2003 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 80915 2 6 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Hard Bop / Drums

Maybe one of the most famous records ever from master drummer Art Blakey – in part because of the cover, which has come to stand for the Blue Note aesthetic of the 60s! But despite that famous image, the music is more than worthy of attention – as the group features that unusual sextet lineup of the Jazz Messengers that made some amazing sounds in the mid 60s – Blakey on drums, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Cedar Walton on piano, and Reggie Workman on bass! Morgan and Shorter are really growing and pushing themselves in different ways than their work with Blakey at the start of the 60s – and the addition of Fuller, and especially Walton, really gives the group this rounded warmth that shows a new level of maturity – a quality that comes through both in the playing, and the writing – as songs are all originals by Walton, Fuller, Morgan, and Shorter.

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers - Lausanne 1960, 2nd Set (1996) {TCB Music 02062}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 332 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 135 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960, 1996 TCB Music | TCB 02062
Jazz / Hard Bop

The 1960 version of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (which consisted of the drummer/leader, trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Meritt) was very well documented. One can argue that these performances of "It's Only a Paper Moon," "'Round Midnight," Wayne Shorter's "The Summit," "A Night in Tunisia" and Timmons' "This Here" do not add that much to the Messengers' vast legacy, but the music is really too good for hard bop fans to pass up.

Art Blakey - Orgy In Rhythm, Vol 1 (1957) {Blue Note Japan TOCJ-1554 rel 1996}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 226 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 63 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 1996 Blue Note / Toshiba-EMI Japan | TOCJ-1554
Jazz / Hard Bop / Drums / Percussion

A true orgy in rhythm from Art Blakey – a set that not only features his drums next to the kit of Art Taylor, but which also adds in a bevy of other percussionists – including Sabu Martinez, Patato Valdez, and Jose Valentine! Joe Jones and Specs Wright also bring in additional jazz drums – making for more drummers than you might even find in a high school band – all working together with amazing qualities in sound, sometimes even melodic amidst all of the rhythms. Lighter lyrical touches are provided by Herbie Mann's flute, and Ray Bryant throws in some great lines on piano – underscoring the grooves in a nice way.

Art Blakey Quartet - A Jazz Message (1963) {2006 Japan Impulse! UCCU-9307 24-bit}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 240 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 90 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 32 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1963, 2006 Impulse! / Verve / Universal Music Japan | UCCU-9307 | 24bit mastering
Jazz / Hard Bop / Drums

Art Blakey, without any Jazz Messengers – but still coming through loud and clear, thanks to help from a unique group that features Sonny Stitt on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, and Art Davis on bass! The album's still got all the hardbop charm of Blakey's best Blue Note dates, but also feels a bit more spontaneous too – and the basslines of Davis are a wonderful change from the usual – beautiful sounds that drive the record quite strongly up from the bottom! Titles include the killer "Cafe", plus "Blues Back", "Just Knock On My Door", "Summertime", and "The Song Is You" – and the album features fantastic blowing from Stitt!

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Buhaina's Delight (1961) {Blue Note RVG Edition 2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 471 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 150 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2004 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 92425 2 1
Jazz / Hard Bop

Arguably the finest lineup of the Jazz Messengers (with the possible exception of the Lee Morgan edition), this incarnation of the band – Blakey, saxophonist Wayne Shorter (here playing tenor), young trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Cedar Walton, and bassist Jymie Merritt – set the tone for the hard bop movement of the '60s. This release features six classic modern-jazz icons and four alternate takes.

Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers - Child's Dance (1972) {2014 Japan Prestige Masters Collection 1000 Series UCCO-90294}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 243 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 89 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 18 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1972, 2014 Prestige / Concord / Universal Music Japan | UCCO-90294 / UCCO-9884 (Prestige PR 10047)
Jazz / Hard Bop / Contemporary Jazz / Drums

After several years of few recordings, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers re-emerged with totally new personnel on this Prestige LP. The strongest performance is a quartet feature for the great trumpeter Woody Shaw on "I Can't Get Started," but the other three selections (which include such musicians as George Cables or John Hicks on keyboards, bassist Stanley Clarke and Ramon Morris on reeds) are also worth hearing and sound surprisingly "contemporary" for the time. An interesting set.

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Live! At Slug’s, N.Y.C. (1968) {Empire Musicwerks ‎545450806-2 rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 242 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 32 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1968, 2006 Empire Musicwerks / Universal | ‎545 450 806-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Drums

Recorded in August 1968 at Slug’s, the notorious East Village nightclub where Lee Morgan met his violent end, this reissue features a Jazz Messengers lineup that never made a studio record. With Blakey pushing the band and setting the dynamic with his typically bombastic style behind the kit, these Messengers kick into high gear right out of the gate on Slide Hampton’s “New World,” which features dazzling solos from trumpeter Bill Hardman, trombonist Julian Priester and tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, along with a whirlwind solo by the bandleader.