Art+blakey

Art Blakey - Drums Around The Corner (1959) {Blue Note Japan SHM-CD UCCQ-5028 rel 2014} (24-192 remaster)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 494 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 171 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 282 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit 192 kHz remaster
© 1959, 2014 Universal Japan / Blue Note | BN 75th The Masterworks | UCCQ-5028
Jazz / Hard Bop

Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest 24bit 192kHz remastering. Pounding! This is the long-awaited re-release of a lost session that Blakey recorded in 1958, with a triple-drum rhythm group that included himself, Philly Joe Jones, and Roy Haynes – plus some additional conga work by Ray Barretto. Unlike other Blakey "drum orgy" sessions, though, this one's got a much straighter jazz feel – with plenty of solo space for trumpeter Lee Morgan and pianist Bobby Timmons.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - At The Jazz Corner Of The World Vol. 2 (1959) {Blue Note Japan TOCJ-4016 rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 284 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 95 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 44 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959, 1993 Blue Note / Toshiba EMI Japan | TOCJ-4016 | The BN Works 4000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop

At the Jazz Corner of the World is a two-volume live album by American jazz drummer Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, featuring performances recorded in 1959 at Birdland and released on the Blue Note label. The album was originally issued as 12-inch LPs in two volumes and later re-released as a two-CD set.

This 1959 concert in Paris by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers has been sporadically available on various labels, but this reissue in Verve's Jazz in Paris series is the best sounding and best packaged of the lot. Blakey's group of this period (Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Jymie Merritt, and Walter Davis, Jr.) is in great form during an extended workout of Morgan's intense blues "The Midget," and Dizzy Gillespie's timeless "A Night in Tunisia" is kicked off by Blakey's an electrifying solo. But it is the addition of some special guests for the first two numbers that proves to be extra special. Bud Powell, sitting in for Davis, and French saxophonist Barney Wilen, on alto rather than his normal tenor sax, are both added to the band for inspired versions of Powell's "Dance of the Infidels" and "Bouncing with Bud." Morgan's trumpet playing is outstanding throughout the concert. This is one of the essential live dates in Art Blakey's rather extensive discography.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Coast To Coast (2000) {Concord Jazz CCD2-4926-2 rec 1984-1986}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 611 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 268 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 24 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1984-86, 2000 Concord Jazz | CCD2-4926-2
Jazz / Hard Bop

Coast to Coast by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers is a two-CD set from Concord Jazz that features a pair of previously recorded "live" engagements in New York City and San Francisco. Disc one contains songs from their 1984 release titled New York Scene and disc two features songs from Live at Kimball's, originally released in 1986. Both discs feature the great drummer in concert with Terence Blanchard on trumpet, Donald Harrison on alto saxophone, Mulgrew Miller on piano, Lonnie Plaxico on bass, and Jean Toussaint on tenor saxophone.

This edition of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers is an unusual one. The personnel includes Blakey veterans Lee Morgan (returning to the band after some success as a leader), Curtis Fuller, and Victor Sproles, along with John Hicks (who appeared on three other Blakey records) and the tenor saxophonist John Gilmore (of Sun Ra fame) in his only appearance with the band. As was typical of Blakey-led groups, the emphasis is on original material by its members; the one Broadway show tune included, "Faith," is from a long since forgotten I Had a Ball. Morgan's driving blues "'S Make It" is easily the highlight of the session, though Hicks' richly voiced "Waltz for Ruth" and Fuller's Latin-flavored "Little Hughie" also deserve to be better known than they are. It's a shame that this was the only recording by this particular lineup of the Jazz Messengers, as Gilmore's strong blowing complements Morgan very well.

Soul Finger, released on Limelight in 1965, marks Lee Morgan's and Freddie Hubbard's final studio appearances as members of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Morgan had been an on-again-off-again member since the 1950s, but his tenure with Blakey through the early 1960s remained fairly constant. The set also includes a young John Hicks on piano, bassist Victor Sproles, and veteran saxophonist Lucky Thompson. While this set may lack the sheer high-energy crackle of some of the Jazz Messengers Blue Note dates, there is quite a bit to enjoy here. The title track kicks the joint off in bluesy style with the three-horn front line in a slightly dissonant intro before moving in a fingerpopping groover with some killer wood by Sproles used as fills between lines. The spunky Latin groove of "Buh's Bossa" offers Blakey's consummate chops accenting the knotty, sometimes snaky melody line with some excellent comp work by Hicks…

Art Blakey - Theory of Art (1957) {RCA–BMG 09026-68730-2 rel 1997}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 273 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 128 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 19 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 1997 RCA Victor / BMG Music | 09026-68730-2
Jazz / Hard Bop

This CD contains two unique sessions in the history of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Five numbers feature a sextet that includes both altoist Jackie McLean, who had recently left the band, and his replacement, tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin along with trumpeter Bill Hardman; "A Night in Tunisia" best shows off this short-lived group. The remaining two numbers were unissued until this CD came out and feature Blakey heading a nonet that included future Messenger Lee Morgan, trombonist Melba Liston and Griffin. The music is consistently excellent and also succeeds as a historical curiosity that should greatly interest Blakey collectors.