Art Blakey

Art Blakey – A Night At Birdland, Vol. 2 (1956/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 37:49 minutes | 1,49 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Blue Note Records

On this follow-up volume of recordings done live at Birdland from the second-edition “Jazz Messengers” (officially the Art Blakey Quintet), there are extraordinary high points, along with low points that either result from tiredness or a lack or preparation. With trumpeter Clifford Brown taking over briefly for Donald Byrd, and alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson in the fray post-Hank Mobley, the band has a very different sound, though pianist Horace Silver, Blakey, and bassist Curly Russell (sitting in for Doug Watkins on these recordings only) are solid as a rock. There’s some quintessential bop and hard bop in this set, inspired and hard-charging as one might expect, but the Latin tinge of the original band is gone. Because of Donaldson’s predilection for the sound of Charlie Parker, the pure bebop sound is unrelentingly infused into the music. Where “Now’s the Time” works well in a relaxed harmonic stance from Brown and Donaldson, you can’t help but notice that the amped-up “Confirmation” has sloppily missed notes in the melody, while “The Way You Look Tonight” (included on later reissues) is really loose as the horns come in tentatively and unsure. “Wee-Dot” fares much better in an assertive, bright sound that clearly is more practiced, representing hard bop at its finest. Donaldson is clearly the dominant player here, with Brown surprisingly taking a back seat, as the strong ballad “If I Had You” has the altoist alternately singing, sighing, and brilliantly extrapolating on his horn à la Bird. They play together quite well on the signature version of Silver’s jaunty hard bop anthem “Quicksilver,” which famously quotes “Oh You Beautiful Doll,” and “Lou’s Blues” (another bonus track) is a quick unison bop for the appropriate end game. The additional tracks expose the flaws in this very short-lived edition of the Blakey-led combo, but the rest is good enough to carry the estimable reputation of this legendary band. –Michael G. Nastos
(more…)

Art Blakey – A Night At Birdland, Vol. 1 (1956/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 37:42 minutes | 1,39 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Blue Note Records

When Art Blakey founded the Jazz Messengers, his initial goal was to not only make his mark on the hard bop scene, but to always bring younger players into the fold, nurture them, and send them out as leaders in their own right. Pianist Horace Silver, trumpeter Clifford Brown, and saxophonist Lou Donaldson were somewhat established, but skyrocketed into stardom after this band switched personnel. Perhaps the most acclaimed combo of Blakey’s next to the latter-period bands with Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter, the pre-Messengers quintet heard on this first volume of live club dates at Birdland in New York City provides solid evidence to the assertion that this ensemble was a one of a kind group the likes of which was not heard until the mid-’60s Miles Davis Quintet. Three of Silver’s greatest contributions to jazz before he turned to original soul and funkier sounds are here. “Split Kick” (introduced by the erudite Pee Wee Marquette) is a definitive hard bop vehicle, as Brown and Donaldson dig into their melody and solo lines with deep affection and joy for this music. “Quicksilver” is more of the same as the horns play in unison and pull the famous lyrical quote from “Hey, You Beautiful Doll.” “Mayreh” is a happy reharmonized version of “All God’s Children Got Rhythm,” hard bop at its best, with Brown on fire. Of course, Donaldson’s forte is soul, as emphasized during the slow “Blues,” assimilating Charlie Parker’s cooled tones nicely. A near ten-minute “A Night in Tunisia” establishes the loose-tight concept Blakey patented as he dominates the bandstand in loudness. J.J. Johnson’s “Wee-Dot” is as definitive a bop flagwaver as there is, with a short head and plenty of solo space. Where Brown was always masterful in a ballad, “Once in a While” showcases his beautifully executed legato sound, but not at the expense of his innate ability to both invent and extrapolate without losing touch of this special melancholy song. This recording, as well as subsequent editions of these performances, launches an initial breakthrough for Blakey and modern jazz in general, and defines the way jazz music could be heard for decades thereafter. Everybody must own copies of all volumes of A Night at Birdland. –Michael G. Nastos
(more…)

Art Blakey – 1958 Paris Olympia (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 55:59 minutes | 1,01 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RevOla

1958 – Paris Olympia is a live album by drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers recorded at L’Olympia in 1958 and originally released on the French Fontana label.

Scott Yanow of Allmusic called it “Hard bop at its best, all of it propelled by the powerful drumming of Art Blakey”.

(more…)

Art Blakey – Caravan (1963/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 39:20 minutes | 393 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RevOla

Caravan is a jazz album released by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in February 1963. It was Blakey’s first album for Riverside Records after he signed with them in October 1962. The songs were recorded at the Plaza Sound Studio in New York City, on October 23–24, 1962 The producer was Orrin Keepnews who also supervised the album’s remastered re-release on CD.

In 2007, the BBC described it as “a slick, fluid, professional set of hard bop at its finest”.
(more…)