Search - Art Blakey :: Jazz Messengers

A good slice of blakey

p dizzle | augusta, georgia, USA | 04/09/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"some critics have panned this 1961 session by mr. blakey and the jazz messengers, feeling the album lacks the punch of such classic blakey lp's like 'moanin' or 'a night in tunisia' (blue note records version). this set is more laid-back, for a blakey band, emphasizing groove over hardbop fury. but that is not to say this album is not good, though. mr. blakey had a gift for bringing together great bands of young musicians and forging a solid unit out of them. this version featured the outstanding horns of lee morgan (trumpet), wayne shorter (tenor sax), and curtis fuller (trombone). mr. morgan takes a quiet approach to his soloing (eg., "don't you know what love is") and is wonderful. mr. shorter gives us glimpses of things to come on his own blue note sessions (eg., 'juju' and 'night dreamer'). other highlights are the opening "alamode" and "i hear a rhapsody". for a nice introduction to mr. blakey, or to hear a more groove oriented messengers set, try this album."

Classic Hard Bop

p dizzle | 10/15/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Besides Miles Davis, no other artist has as many terrific sidemen as Art Blakey. This album is wonderfully remastered and features the great trumpet work of Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller on Bone, and the sax of Wayne Shorter, to combine with Blakey's great drum work. This is a great starter album for those of you trying to expand your jazz collection, or a great addition to any collection (and I am not an employee of Impulse records either)."

I Love this CD

p dizzle | 12/25/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have had this CD in my player for the past month and a half and haven't been able to take it out. The group swings hard through the whole album, and they play an eclectic mix of ballads and pieces that are more uptempo. The solos of Fuller, Shorter, and Morgan are tremendous, especially Shorter's on "Alamode" and Fuller's on "You Don't Know What Love Is." If you like jazz, I don't think you can go wrong with this one."