Art Blakey: Jazz Messengers' drummer + bandleader, decoded
Art Blakey led the Jazz Messengers from 1955 through 1990 across multiple lineups. Bebop / hard-bop drumming canon; the band's revolving roster trained generations of jazz musicians (Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis).
Jazz Messengers · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
Art Blakey (born Arthur Blakey, October 11, 1919, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; died October 16, 1990, age 71) led the Jazz Messengers from 1955 through his 1990 death. The band's revolving lineup trained generations of jazz musicians (Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton, Curtis Fuller, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard); the academy reputation is part of his legacy. Drum-side: defining hard-bop pocket with the canonical 'press-roll-into-1' shuffle pattern, Moanin' (1958) is the canonical Jazz Messengers record. Bebop / hard-bop drumming canon alongside Max Roach + Kenny Clarke.
At a glance
Also known as
Active
Based
Affiliations
- Jazz Messengers (drummer + bandleader, 1955–1990)
- Billy Eckstine band (1944–1947)
- Multiple recordings as a session drummer (Blue Note, Riverside, others)
- The Jazz Messengers academy: trained Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton, Curtis Fuller, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, and many others
Notable credits
- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Moanin' (1958, with Lee Morgan + Benny Golson)
- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, A Night in Birdland (1954)
- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Free for All (1965, with Wayne Shorter)
- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Caravan (1962)
- Plus 50+ Jazz Messengers recordings across the 1955–1990 era
Who Art Blakey was
Arthur "Art" Blakey, born October 11, 1919, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, led Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers from 1955 through his death in October 1990. Across 35+ years and continuously rotating lineups, the band's academy reputation is inseparable from Blakey's legacy: Wayne Shorter (1959-1964), Lee Morgan (1958-1961), Freddie Hubbard (1961-1964), Cedar Walton, Curtis Fuller, Wynton Marsalis (1980-1982), Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, Bobby Watson, and many more cycled through the Messengers as young musicians before launching their own careers.
He converted to Islam in the late 1940s and adopted the name Abdullah Ibn Buhaina (often shortened to Bu); recordings credit him variously across both names. Before founding the Messengers he played in Billy Eckstine's band (1944-1947) and across the broader bebop scene.
He died October 16, 1990, of lung cancer at age 71.
Style signatures
Three things across the Jazz Messengers catalog you can identify as Blakey's:
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The 'Blakey press roll' into 1. A shuffle press-roll signature device that lifts every chart into the top of each form; one of the most-imitated jazz-drum signature moves.
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Aggressive ride-cymbal drive. Blakey's ride pattern is more propulsive than the lighter touch some jazz drummers favor; the intensity is part of why Jazz Messengers records feel distinctly Messengers.
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Hi-hat 'bombs' as accent device. Foot drops on unexpected beats push the band forward; the technique became a signature device in hard-bop drum vocabulary.
Related
The catalog. Jazz Messengers, A Night at Birdland (1954) through Blakey's 1990 final recordings. Defining record: Moanin' (1958).
The academy alumni. Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, and many more.
Drummer hub. Drummers index. Bebop / hard-bop canon parallel: Max Roach, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Gene Krupa.