Art Blakey

Most of the titles on this album are derived from Thelonious Monk's vast catalog of bop standards. Both co-leaders are at the peak of their respective prowess with insightful interpretations of nearly half a dozen inspired performances from this incarnation of the Blakey-led Jazz Messengers. This combo features Art Blakey (drums), Johnny Griffin (tenor sax), Bill Hardman (trumpet), and Spanky Debrest (bass). Immediately, Hardman ups the ante with a piledriving lead during "Evidence" that underscores the heavy-hitting nature of this particular jazz confab.

A rare outing for drummer Art Blakey performing with a big band. The 15-piece orchestra here gave Blakey the chance, or maybe the excuse, to pound his drums even louder and more aggressively than in his usual small-combo setting. Blakey preferred the freedom of small bands, but several of the musicians who worked with him on this album thought he was at his best drumming in a big band context. And some of the names in Blakey's band on this album? John Coltrane, Donald Byrd and Al Cohn, among many others.

1958 – Paris Olympia is a live album by drummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers recorded at L'Olympia in 1958 and originally released on the French Fontana label.

Drum Suite is an album by drummer Art Blakey with The Jazz Messengers and the Art Blakey Percussion Ensemble, recorded in late 1956 and early 1957 and originally released on the Columbia label.

Holiday for Skins is a 1959 album by jazz drummer Art Blakey. Recorded for the Blue Note label in November 1958, the album was released in two volumes before being reissued together in a CD set in 2006.

Recorded in 1956, Art Blakey's Drum Suite is a wonderful hybrid of African, Latin, and hard bop rhythms that prefigures the concept of Afro-beat by at least a decade, and the sheer energy, not to mention its very special and fresh-sounding intimacy, make it especially astounding.

Three Blind Mice is a 1962 jazz album released by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers on the United Artists Jazz label, featuring live material recorded in 1962 Club Renaissance, Hollywood.

The Witch Doctor is an album by American jazz drummer and bandleader Art Blakey and his group The Jazz Messengers recorded on March 14, 1961 and released on the Blue Note label. It features performances by Blakey with Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons, and Jymie Merritt.