Big band, bebop, hard bop, down beat and aggressive swing, Pittsburgh born Jazz drummer Art Blakey kept pace with it all.

Much of Blakey's life is clouded by time and a series of incredible stories and tall tales. One thing is for certain, the man could beat those drums.

Blakey came up in the '40s big bands of Fletcher Henderson and Billy Eckstine. He worked with bebop musicians Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. In the mid-1950s Horace Silver and Blakey formed the Jazz Messengers, a cornucopia of talent, which became a warm nest for young fledgling Jazz birds, including Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, and Wynton Marsalis.

Towards the end of his career, lore states that, due to his aggressive style, Blakey had lost much of his hearing!and played "strictly by instinct." [29]. Arguing that hearing aides threw off his timing, he just followed the vibes... pretty amazing.

Please enjoy this version of Dizzy's  "A Night in Tunisia"   with the amaaaazingly talented (Adel Dazeem 😂) Mr. Art Blakey and the 1958 incarnation of the Jazz Messengers: 

• Art Blakey - Drums
• Lee Morgan - Trumpet
• Benny Golson - Sax
• Bobby Timmons - Piano
• Jymie Merritt - Bass

This'll get you going in the right direction.

Love, 

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