KCOU JAZZ
March 16, 2025
This episode of KCOU Jazz focuses on one of the most respected and longest-standing hard-bop ensembles in jazz history, led by one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time across five decades. The group saw frequent line-up changes, generations of world-class musicians, and a stable leader in drummer Art Blakey.
Beginning in the mid-1950s and ending in 1990 with the death of Blakey, the Messengers were prolific and varied in their output, releasing 47 studio albums, 21 live albums, 2 soundtracks, and 6 compilations. Widely known as the “Hard Bop Academy,” the band served as a stepping stone for musicians across generations, from Donald Byrd to Freddie Hubbard to Wynton Marsalis.
This playlist traces the group’s evolution from its first New York live recordings to its final days, serving as a tribute to a defining ensemble in the combo jazz sphere.
Songs Included
The Jazz Messengers | Announcement By Art Blakey | The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia (1955)
In this live recording from the early days of The Jazz Messengers, drummer and bandleader Art Blakey introduces the first edition of musicians in the Messenger lineage. Recorded in the Cafe Bohemia, a Greenwich Village jazz club that ran from 1955 to 1960 and reopened in 2019, this recording acquaints listeners with the tight-knit, approachable feel of the ensemble. This compilation album was released by Blue Note Records, the label that recorded The Jazz Messengers until 1964.
Horace Silver and The Jazz Messengers | The Preacher | Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers (1956)
A well-respected jazz standard, Horace Silver’s The Preacher blends gospel sound with bebop language to create a jaunty piece that balances old-time feel with modern jazz conventions. Almost gutted by Blue Note producer Alfred Lion for being “too old-timey,” this song is an early example of the Jazz Messengers’ ability to develop hard-bop sound.
The first studio album with the Jazz Messengers tag, this project was the reissue of two Horace Silver Quintet releases—hence why Silver is attributed as the leader of this Messenger’s recording. This quintet features Silver on piano, Blakey on drums, Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Hank Mobley on saxophone, and Doug Watkins on bass.
The Jazz Messengers | Ill Wind | The Jazz Messengers (1956)
The first official studio album from the Jazz Messengers came in 1956, and swapped Kenny Dorham for a young Donald Byrd on trumpet. Ill Wind has Byrd leading a gentle, muted performance that demonstrates his grace and elegance on the horn. A shorter tune in length, Byrd combines well with Mobley to make Ill Wind feel like a gentle stroll through a windy pasture. Silver’s piano dictates moments of calm and uncertainty, guiding the current of the ensemble with his signature layered playing.
Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers | Moanin’ | Moanin’ (1959)
As the late 1950s progressed, Art Blakey’s Messengers attracted more pedigree and attention, collaborating with Thelonius Monk and bringing through musicians Jackie McLean and Kenny Drew. However, it was Blakey’s next change which truly defined the group’s strength. In 1958, Blakey formed a new lineup with four Philadelphia natives: Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons, and Jymie Merrit. Recording with Blue Note Records, they created Moanin’.
Composed by pianist Bobby Timmons, Moanin’ is a ripened, sophisticated cut of concentrated hard-bop that brought forth The Jazz Messengers’ widespread recognition and acclaim. Bringing the best out of a 21-year-old Lee Morgan’s technical trumpet virtuosity, Benny Golson’s dynamicism and soulful expression on saxophone, and Timmons’ own compositional excellence, this nine-and-a-half-minute scorcher packages dense jazz language in a paced, purposeful end product. Jymie Merritt also features on bass in this recording. Full of call and response phrases and spirited solos, this tune bleeds blues.
This album was originally entitled Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, but Timmons’ composition was so instantly popular that it changed the way listeners refered to the release. The song has received critical aclaim and has been widely listened to since its release. Moanin’ is an easily enjoyable composition with deep thought, effort, and class poured into it.
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers | On The Ginza | Ugetsu (1963)
Recorded for Riverside Records, On The Ginza is a recording from The Messengers’ Ugetsu live album in Birdland. By 1963, the Jazz Messengers had again completely reshuffled their musical lineup and brought fresh faces to the hard-bop scene. Another prime example of hard-bop sound, this Wayne Shorter composition sails between rhythmic crashes and serene straights. Named after Tokyo’s high-end shopping district and an homage to their tour in Japan months prior, On The Ginza feels like a hectic trip through a busy commercial center.
On The Ginza creates a mixed musical palette, distinguishably colorized by the combination of Blakey’s active percussion and Cedar Walton’s balanced piano. The other performances on this tune come from Shorter’s saxophone, Freddie Hubbard’s trumpet, Curtis Fuller’s trombone, and Reggie Workman’s bass. Through unreliable rhyhmic directions and patterns, the brass players navigate the shifting musical space by forming winding, repititive sequences full of bebop language. This recording was shared well between the musicians, and as Blakey explains in his introduction “in this tune, we feature no one in particular.”
Art Blakey and The New Jazz Messengers | Between Races | Buttercorn Lady (1966)
On Buttercorn Lady, Art Blakey’s ensemble once again turned over completely, bringing new musicians into the fray for Limelight Records. This live album replaced Hubbard with Chuck Mangione on trumpet, introduced a young Keith Jarrett to the jazz world, and brought forward the talents of Frank Mitchell on saxophone and Reggie Johnson on bass. This cut of Between Races is a spirited run through a tune that accelerates throughout its duration.
Despite the changing scene of jazz music after the release of Coltrane’s A Love Supreme (1965), Blakey’s ensembles still stuck closely to their hard-bop roots, which is well-reflected in the speed and tone of this album. Despite the hard-bop nature of this song, Coltrane’s spiritual jazz influence shines through Mitchell’s solo performance and the lyrical openness of the tune’s finale.
Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers | Child’s Dance | Child’s Dance Vol. 1 (1973)
While the rest of the jazz world entered the fusion era in the 1970s, this was a difficult time for The Jazz Messengers. The band saw frequent turnover, few recordings, and a decline in domestic attention as they continued to play hard-bop. Child’s Dance came in 1973 as the ensemble was signed to Prestige Records. This recording is notably more relaxed and spacey than the previous hard-bop the ensemble was known for, perhaps a sign of Blakey’s increasing age and the group’s hard times.
With flute sound and electric bass, this recording has hallmarks of a new era in jazz music, but keeps many of the same elements of Blakey’s previous ensembles: unified melodies, solo sections, and excellent, varied drumming. With slowed pace, flute instrumentation, and reflective feelings contrary to the noise of fusion and free jazz, Child’s Dance builds upon the same themes from Herbie Hancock’s Speak Like A Child (1968).
Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers | One For All (And All For One) | One For All (1990)
The final album in The Jazz Messengers discography, One For All is Art Blakey’s final victory lap after leading his project through four decades of music and generations of talent. This composition by trombonist Steve Davis is spirited and passionate, honoring the history of the ensemble and its place in the jazz hall of fame. In his early career, Art Blakey said he would stay with young musicians throughout his career. “When these get too old I'll get some younger ones. Keeps the mind active," Blakey said in 1954. Blakey stuck to this promise and moved along the younger generation all the way through to this release.
Only months after this album, Blakey passed away in from lung cancer, leaving behind a legacy of excellence and one of the most respected bodies of work in jazz history.