Drummer Art Blakey arguably created and defined the “hard bop” quintet, usually consisting of a tenor sax/trumpet front line performing soulful jazz with a hefty back beat. These three albums find Blakey leading two of his most famous teams, and there isn’t a nanosecond that doesn’t deserve your undivided attention.
The team of Lee Morgan/tp, Wayne Shorter/ts, Bobby Timmons/p and Jymie Merritt/b make up the first two discs, with a bachanal take of “A Night In Tunisia” and a concert gig at Birdland that includes a deft “The Breeze and I” and Morgan glistening on ”Round Midnight”. Trombonist Curtis Fuller joins in for a bit for a tasty “A La Mode” and shadowed “You Don’t Know What Love Is” . Pianist Cedar Walton and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard take over the respected spots for a nifty “Mosaic” and spark flying “Crisis”. Both trumpeters were in the fashion of machismo and lyricism, while the gospel piano of Timmons gave a deep soul pulse, and Wayne Shorter’s sophisticated compositions added a touch of style and taste. This is the band to which all other small groups aspire, but few attain.