Early period
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers recordings hint at greater things to come in the '60s and are potent reminders of
Blakey's taste level and skill as a bandleader, but also give a great overall view of how the music was changing from bop to hard bop. These sessions from 1956-1958 have been in and out of print several times, and ostensibly feature the second and third editions of
the Messengers, including saxophonists
Jackie McLean (on his famous "Little Melonae") and
Hank Mobley ("Hank's Symphony" is a classic), as well as trumpeters
Lee Morgan (his priceless reading of "I Remember Clifford" is here) and
Donald Byrd. The
Bobby Timmons evergreen "Moanin'" kicks things off. This material, while not essential, has become revered among the cognoscenti over time, and should be in every modern jazz collection. ~ Michael G. Nastos