If you’re a self-respecting jazz fan, somewhere in your life you were introduced to Art Blakey, either through his group The Jazz Messengers, or by listening to him as a “sideman” on countless albums.
If you’re not familiar with him, here’s your chance to put some muscle on your musical bones, because your appreciation for music in general, and jazz specifically, is not complete unless you have these albums in your collection. Some are 2 plus record sets. Live, baby, live!
Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins-Monk and Blakey were a special symbiotic team, with this one all the better with Sonny Rollins sitting in.- Thelonious Monk-Monk’s Music. Ditto with Blakey and Monk from above, but here we have tenor saxists John Coltrane (in the perfect quartet setting on “Ruby My Dear”) and also Coleman Hawkins blowing around Blakey’s patented press roll on “Well, You Needn’t”
Art Blakey-A Night In Birdland. Blakey himself declares on one of the three lps that his lifelong mission is to serve as a school for younger guys. Here, with Clifford Brown, Lou Donaldson and Horace Silver, the stage is set for the prototypical hard bop quintet- The Jazz Messengers-At The Café Bohemia. A couple years later, Blakey forms one of his classic teams with Silver, Kenny Dorham and Hank Mobley for a sizzling set that includes the classic “Soft Winds”.
The Jazz Messengers-Moanin’. This one off band featured tenorist/composer Benny Golson along with the churchified piano of Bobby Timmons and trumpet protégé Lee Morgan for the incendiary title track (with Morgan’s classic trumpet lead in) and the sine qua non “Blues March”. A trend setter.
The Jazz Messengers-The Big Beat. You can pick any of the 60-61 sessions from the team of Morgan, Timmons, Jymie Merritt/b and Wayne Shorter/ts, but this one stands out due to a couple classics “Lester Left Town” and the hypnotic “Dat Dere”. Possibly Blakey’s best overall band
- Art Blakeys’ Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk-A one-off with Blakey’s band in transition, featuring the garrulous Johnny Griffin/ts along with Bill Hardman/tp and Spanky Debrestb. The sparks fly on a definitive “Evidence” and “In Walked Bud”.
Cannonball Adderley: Somethin’ Else. It was a tossup which Blakey album with Miles to recommend, but this one with Davis, Hank Jones/p and Sam Jones/b is hard to beat, with an epic read of “Autumn Leaves”- Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers: Ugetsu or Caravan-Blakey went sextet for awhile, bringing in trombonist Curtis Fuller to fill out an already strong team of Freddie Hubbard/tp, Wayne Shorter/ts, Cedar Walton/p and Reggie Workman/b. The band
burns on the title track and clever “Ping-Pong”. Hubbard explodes on his own “Thermo” and glistens on “Skylark” - Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with Wynton Marsalis: Keystone 3, Album of the Year, Straight Ahead. Yes, Blakey had a couple bands after Wynton Marsalis, but this one with the future spokesman (with or without brother Branford) of jazz along with Billy Pierce was Blakey’s true Ebenezer.
