Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers

R.I.P. Cedar Walton

R.I.P. Horace Silver

Not a good year for Jazz Messengers pianists.

So the rumors are false, but I hadn't listened to him in a while, and it's reminding me that the thing I always liked the most about him was that heavy left hand.

I don't think I have had a proper listen to Mosaic before, gosh it is a fucking immense album.

I used to really like New World which was a pretty random find and I think comes from a '68 live set with Julian Priester in the Messengers.
Had turned up in my local records hop when I was just discovering various bits of jazz. & I knew the name Art Bl;akey but not much of his material. I think he's still somebody I don't know brilliantly.
But he Kenny Clarke and Max Roach are all good.

the closing track was inspired by the Cuban Missile Crisis and contains the third absolute badass Blakey drum solo of the album.

in fact I think it was Arabia that has the mentioned drum solo, no matter it is all good.

i've kinda barely heard blakey stuff after Shorter left the band -- i should probably dig into it a but more.

Same. I know John Gilmore (!) was in the lineup at one point, but dunno if he recorded with them in addition to touring with them.

Mosaic is a favorite, the title track is insane. Thanks for the reminder, now I'll be listening to '60s Blakey records all week.

Wow, Jymie Merritt is still around at 90. So is Curtis Fuller (and Wayne Shorter, of course).

Jymie's son is bassist Mike Merritt, who's been in Conan O'Brien's house band since '93.

Free for All is my go to Jazz Messengers Blue Note alb - a late intense one w/ Freddie Hubbard and Wayner Shorter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nljvdRWsfG4

the core, the heart music

I'm listening to Afrique off The Witch Doctor at the moment <3

that lee morgan doc is streaming on netflix now -- looking forward to checking it out.

It's also on Amazon Video, for people (like me) who don't have Netflix.

That Blue Note '5 Essential Records' set has been great so far. I have not yet checked out the drum ensemble record but the other four have been really good listens, especially 'Free for All' which is another ace Blue Note album.

That title track "Free for All" is really intense and to me sounds like Wayne Shorter kinda digging into similar ideas that Coltrane had been doing a short time before. It's really aggressive.

Curtis Fuller's trombone sound is so warm. Having that low end with the trumpet and the tenor sax makes such a big sound. It sounds really good on Coltrane's Blue Train too. I love how on many of these tunes during the solos the other two horns do those little chord drop ins.

You really can tell this was not just a pick up for a session band, they sound tight as hell.

Anyway...some of the best music new to me that I have heard in a while.

I bet that drum solo "The Freedom Rider" has been cut up and single shot sampled a boodle over the years.

how did I ever live without this music?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idVU_YhZ7AU

this band smokes

yes

picked up the album Hard Bop, w/Art obv and Jackie McLean (who I adore and feel like could get more love?) and three guys I'm not familiar with - Bill Hardman, Sam Dockery, and the amazingly named bassist Spanky de Brest. great record.

stopped in to say The Jazz Messengers (1956 album) is just nothing short of incredible.