ART BLAKEY & THE JAZZ MESSENGERS Vinilo y CD

Review: Jazz drummer Art Blakey's formative album Mosaic was important as the first of his albums to introduce what would become the finest lineup of his Jazz Messengers band, which included Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Cedar Walton (piano) and Jymie Merritt (bass). Blazing through the hard bop form like a dynamo wielding twin beaters made of the stuff magic wands are fashioned after, Blakey is heard on top form, flamming, rolling and double-tapping like it's nobody's business, and never breaking a sweat, or into a slow jam. The more measured cuts such as 'Crisis' are nonetheless as tight as ever and though Blakey is well into his career by this point, he's still at the height of it.

Review: Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers are up there with some of the jazz genre's greatest ever. This album is one of the many that shook the jazz world with its thrilling invention and rule breaking sounds. It was recorded for - who else - Blue Note in 1958 and dropped a year later with its definitive hard bop style front and centre. It was Art's first album for the label in many years and as such marked a fresh start with the blues sound of the title cut in particular chiming with fans worldwide.

Review: Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers were one of the most potent forces in the hard bop era - and this live album proves the point in no uncertain terms. Recorded at Parisian concert venue L'Olympia in 1958, around the same time Holiday For Skins was released, this is the sound of a band in full flight, springing through uptempo cuts and softer reveries with irrepressible joy and feeling. Blakey on drums was backed up by Lee Morgan on trumpet, Benny Golson on tenor sax, Bobby Timmons on piano and Jaymie Merritt on bass, winding up in an exuberant ensemble who deliver their sound with focus and urgency.

Review: Reflections in Blue was recorded by the jazz drumming great Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers in the Netherlands in 1978. It dropped on the Dutch label Timeless and at the time was regarded as one of his best in a number of years. It was later overshadowed by ensuing albums but remains a good one for the collection with Bobby Watson on alto saxophone, David Schnitter on tenor saxophone and Dennis Irwin on bass amongst other musicians. This reissue comes on heavyweight vinyl for an extra rich listening experience.

Review: Making a name for himself in the 1940s in the big bands of Fletcher Henderson and Billy Eckstine, as well as through his work with bebop musicians Thelnious Monk, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey was undoubtedly one of the greatest American jazz drummers of the 40s and beyond. Recorded in 1960 at Englewood Cliffs' iconic Van Gelder Studio and released a year later on Blue Notes Records, A Night in Tunisia is a glittering collaborative project between Blakey and The Jazz Messengers - a group led by Blakey from the outset that was active for over thirty-five years. This album is a wonderful example of how Blakey structured sessions in such a way as to allow generous pockets of solo room for his young talent to shine.

Review: First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings is sure to be a real thrill for fans of Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers. It is a never before rebased or heard recording of a show they played at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo on January 14, 1961. The group was one of the first to tour the country and enthralled caudices everywhere they played. At the time, the band was made up of Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Bobby Timmons on piano and Jymie Merritt on bass and for this set they performed plenty of classics such as Charlie Parker's 'Now's the Time' and Thelonious Monk's 'Round About Midnight.'

Review: Here's something to set any serious jazz-head's pulse racing: a recently rediscovered (and never-before released) live album from Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. The double-disc set showcases the collective (whose members at that time included tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Thomas and trumpeter Lee Morgan) in concert during their first tour of Japan in 1961. As you'd expect, it makes for brilliant listening, with the band switching between extended, reworked versions of their own compositions (see the fantastic take on 'Moanin') and jazz staples including Charlie Parker's 'Now's The Time' and Thelonious Monk's 'Round About Midnight'. The accompanying booklet is brilliant, too, and includes a wealth of new interviews, rare photographs of the performance and an essay by jazz journalist Bob Blummethal.

Review: For their next trick, Blue Note unleash a newly remastered album by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers that was first released in 1967, six years after it was recorded. With Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons on piano and Jymie Merritt on bass, some say this was the band's greatest ever line up. The tunes were written by a mixture of the band members and range from the deep soul joy of 'A Little Busy' to the dancier 'Lost And Found' via the modal masterpiece that is 'Afrique.'

Review: Art Blakey's greatest album with the Jazz Messengers is this one, Roots & Herbs, and it is probably one of his least well known. The 1961 line up of this famous jazz collective had the esteemed Lee Morgan on trumpet, with Jymie Merritt on bass, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone and piano played by Bobby Timmons. It was of course laid down in the most famous studio of them all, Rudy Van Gelder's studio in New Jersey, and take sin six hard bp jams, the playful title track, and the superbly inventive 'United.' Get to know.

Review: Jazz fans are in for a real treat here as Blue Note unleash a never before heard studio album by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. It was recorded back in 1959 at the legendary Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack studio and has Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt all playing as part of the recording. As the title suggests, it's a breezy, super cool record with seductive trumpets and icy drums all next to neat keys that encourage you to gently bop. After months of waiting, it proves more than worth all the anticipation.