A guide to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Art is an indisputable titan within the jazz world
Born in 1919, drummer Art Blakey is an indisputable titan within the jazz world. Having played with the likes of Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Sarah Vaughan (among others), Blakey became arguably one of the great jazz influencers in history forming his Jazz Messengers with Horace Silver in the 1950s.
Which are Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' most well-known albums?
The group - which is synonymous with Blue Note - would go on to record such classic albums such as 'Moanin'' (1959), 'The Big Beat' (1960), 'Indestructible' (1966) and 'Free For All' (1964).
Which other artists did Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers work with?
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers incubated some of the greatest talent in music including Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Benny Golson, Chick Corea and Wynton Marsalis - but that is just to scratch the surface of his influence. Art Blakey's group went on to record and perform for 35 years.
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: 'Just Coolin''
Blue Note recently released 'Just Coolin’', a never-before-released studio album by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, recorded in 1959 at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in New Jersey. The session featured a short-lived line-up of The Jazz Messengers with drummer Art Blakey, trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt.
Listen here to comedian and self-professed jazz nerd Marcus Brigstocke as he looks at the musical connections of the drummer.