Art Blakey
A promo picture of Art Blakey. © Francis Wolff
Background information
Birth name	Arthur Blakey
Also known as	Abdullah Ibn Buhaina
Born	October 11, 1919(1919-10-11)
Origin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died	October 16, 1990 (aged 71)
Genre(s)	Hard bop Jazz
Occupation(s)	Drummer
Instrument(s)	Drum Set, Percussion
Years active	1940's - 1990's
Label(s)	Blue Note Records
Associated acts	Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers Art Blakey Quartet Art Blakey Quintet Art Blakey & the Afrocuban Boys
Website	http://www.artblakey.com/

Arthur (Art) Blakey (October 11, 1919–October 16, 1990), also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Along with Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, he was one of the inventors of the modern bebop style of drumming. He is known as a powerful musician and a vital groover; his brand of bluesy, funky hard bop was (and remains) profoundly influential on mainstream jazz. Over more than 30 years his band the Jazz Messengers included many young musicians who went on to become prominent names in jazz, including Jackie McLean, Clifford Brown, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Curtis Fuller, Donald Byrd, Cedar Walton, Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin, Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons, Jymie Merritt, Chuck Mangione, John Gilmore, Woody Shaw, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Gary Bartz, Keith Jarrett, Joanne Brackeen, Brian Lynch, James Williams, Mulgrew Miller, Benny Green, Donald Harrison, Terence Blanchard, and John Hicks. The band's legacy is thus not only the often exceptionally fine music it produced, but as a proving ground for several generations of jazz musicians; it is comparable only to Miles Davis's bands in this regard. Image File history File links ArtBlakey. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Nickname: Motto: Benigno Numine (With the Benevolent Deity) Location in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States Commonwealth Pennsylvania County Allegheny Founded November 25, 1758 Incorporated April 22, 1794 (borough)   March 18, 1816 (city) Government  - Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (D) Area  - City 151. ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Hard bop is an extension of bebop (bop) music which incorporates influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... A drummer in Action A drummer is a person who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... An extended 4-piece drum kit A drum kit (or drum set or trap set - the latter an old-fashioned term) is a collection of drums, cymbals and other percussion instruments arranged for convenient playing by a sole percussionist (drummer), usually for jazz, rock, or other types of contemporary music. ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... A drummer in Action A drummer is a person who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ... A bandleader is the director of a band of musicians. ... Kenny Clarke (born January 9, 1914 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania-died January 26, 1985 in Paris, France) was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming. ... Jazz in 3/4 time cover released in 1957 on EmArcy Maxwell Lemuel Roach (born January 10, 1924) is a percussionist, drummer, and jazz composer. ... Hard bop is an extension of bebop (bop) music which incorporates influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing. ... John Lenwood (Jackie) McLean (born May 17, 1932) is an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator, born in New York City. ... Clifford Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. ... Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (born April 7, 1938 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American jazz trumpeter. ... Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz composer and saxophonist. ... Curtis DuBois Fuller (born in Detroit, December 15, 1934) is a United States jazz trombonist. ... Donaldson Toussaint LOuverture Byrd II (born December 9, 1932) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter, born in Detroit, Michigan. ... Cedar Anthony Walton, Junior (born in 1934) is an American hard bop pianist. ... Lee Morgan Lee Morgan (born July 10, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-died February 19, 1972 in New York City) was a hard bop trumpeter. ... Henry (Hank) Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist. ... John Arnold Griffin III (born in 1928) is an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist. ... Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. ... Robert Henry Bobby Timmons (Born: December 19, 1935 in Philadelphia _ Died: March 1, 1974 in New York City) was an American jazz pianist and composer. ... Jymie Merritt (born in 1926 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a classically trained American bass player who has worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, and blues. ... Chuck Mangione on his Feels So Good record album cover. ... John Gilmore for the jazz saxophonist, or John Gilmore John Gilmore is one of the founders of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Cypherpunks mailing list, and Cygnus Solutions. ... Woody Herman Shaw II (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American trumpeter and flugelhorn player. ... Wynton Learson Marsalis (b. ... Branford Marsalis. ... Gary Bartz (born in 1940) is an American alto and soprano saxophonist. ... Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American pianist and composer. ... Joanne Brackeen (born July 26, 1938) is an American jazz pianist and music educator. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... James Williams is the name of several notable people: James Williams (1740-1780), U.S. Revolution, Colonel from South Carolina James Williams (1825-1899), U.S. Congressman from Delaware James Williams (1951-2004), Jazz Pianist This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... Mulgrew Miller is an American jazz pianist born in 1955 in Greenwood, Mississippi. ... Benny Green(born April 4, 1963 in New York City) is a hard bop jazz pianist who graduated from Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers. ... Donald Harrison is a saxaphone player and native of New Orleans. ... Terence Blanchard (b. ... John Josephus Hicks, Jr. ... Miles Dewey Davis III (26 May 1926 – 28 September 1991) was one of the most influential musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ...

Early career

In the 1940s, Blakey was a member of bands led by Mary Lou Williams, Fletcher Henderson, and Billy Eckstine. He converted to Islam during a visit to West Africa in the late 1940s and took the name Abdullah Ibn Buhaina (which led to the nickname "Bu"). The African visit is the subject of some dispute as he was never absent from America for the length of time claimed. Some suspect the trip never took place. By the late forties and early fifties, Blakey was backing musicians such as Miles Davis, Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk — he is often considered to have been Monk's most sympathetic drummer, and he played on both Monk's first recording session as a leader (for Blue Note Records in 1947) and his final one (in London in 1971), as well as many in between. Mary Lou Williams (May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. ... Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. ... Billy Eckstine (8 July 1914 – 8 March 1993), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as William Clarence Eckstein. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Miles Dewey Davis III (26 May 1926 – 28 September 1991) was one of the most influential musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ... The Amazing Bud Powell - early LP cover Earl Rudolph Bud Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966 in New York City) was one of the most influential pianists in the history of jazz. ... Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

The Jazz Messengers

Cover art for Blakey's "Moanin'"

The origins of the Messengers are in a series of groups led or co-led by Blakey and pianist Horace Silver, though the name was not used on the earliest of their recordings. The most celebrated of these early records (credited to "The Art Blakey Quintet"), is A Night at Birdland from February 1954, one of the earliest commercially released "live" jazz records. This featured Silver, Blakey, the young trumpeter Clifford Brown, alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson and bassist Curly Russell. The "Jazz Messengers" name was first used on a 1954 recording nominally led by Silver, with Blakey, Hank Mobley, Kenny Dorham and Doug Watkins — the same quintet would record The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia the following year, still as a collective. Donald Byrd replaced Dorham, and the group recorded an album called simply The Jazz Messengers for Columbia Records in 1956. Blakey took over the group name when Silver left after the band's first year (taking Mobley, Byrd and Watkins with him to form a new quintet with a variety of drummers), and the band was known as "Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers" from then onwards. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver, born on September 2, 1928 in Norwalk, Connecticut) is a famous jazz pianist and composer born to a Cape Verdean father (of mixed Portuguese-black descent) and a mother of Irish and African descent. ... Clifford Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. ... Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is a jazz alto saxophonist. ... Curly Russell (19th March 1917 - 3rd July 1986) was an American jazz musician, who played bass on many bebop recordings. ... Henry (Hank) Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist. ... McKinley Howard (Kenny) Dorham (August 30, 1924 - December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. ... Douglas Watkins (1934 – 1962) was an American hard bop bassist. ... Donaldson Toussaint LOuverture Byrd II (born December 9, 1932) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter, born in Detroit, Michigan. ... Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ...

Two of the group's most famous lineups featured Wayne Shorter on saxophone. The first was a quintet that existed from 1959 to 1961 and included Blakey, Shorter, Jymie Merritt, Lee Morgan, and Bobby Timmons. The second (1961–1964) was a sextet that added trombonist Curtis Fuller and replaced Morgan and Timmons with Freddie Hubbard and Cedar Walton, respectively. Shorter was the musical director of the group, and many of his original compositions such as "Lester Left Town" remained staples of Blakey's repertoire even after Shorter's departure. (Other players over the years made permanent marks on Blakey's repertoire — Timmons, composer of "Dat Dere" and "Moanin'", Benny Golson, composer of "Along Came Benny" and "Are You Real", and, later, Bobby Watson.) Shorter's more experimental inclinations pushed the band at the time into an engagement with the 1960s "New Thing", as it was called: the influence of Coltrane's contemporary records on Impulse! is evident on Free For All (1964), often cited as the greatest document of the Shorter-era Messengers (and certainly one of the most fearsomely powerful examples of hard bop on record). Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz composer and saxophonist. ... Jymie Merritt (born in 1926 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a classically trained American bass player who has worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, and blues. ... Lee Morgan Lee Morgan (born July 10, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-died February 19, 1972 in New York City) was a hard bop trumpeter. ... Robert Henry Bobby Timmons (Born: December 19, 1935 in Philadelphia _ Died: March 1, 1974 in New York City) was an American jazz pianist and composer. ... Curtis DuBois Fuller (born in Detroit, December 15, 1934) is a United States jazz trombonist. ... Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (born April 7, 1938 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American jazz trumpeter. ... Cedar Anthony Walton, Junior (born in 1934) is an American hard bop pianist. ... Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. ...

Later career

Blakey went on to record dozens of albums with a constantly changing group of Jazz Messengers — he had a policy of encouraging young musicians: as he remarked on-mike on A Night at Birdland (1954): "I'm gonna stay with the youngsters. When these get too old I'll get some younger ones. Keeps the mind active." After weathering the fusion era of the 1960s and 1970s with some difficulty (recordings from this period are less plentiful and include attempts to incorporate instruments like electric piano), Blakey's band got a shot in the arm in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the advent of neotraditionalist jazz. Wynton Marsalis was for a time the band's trumpeter and musical director, and even after Marsalis's departure Blakey's band continued as a proving ground for many so-called "Young Lion" players. Blakey continued performing and touring with the group into the late 1980s, and he died in 1990 in New York City, leaving behind a vast legacy and approach to jazz which is still the model for countless hard-bop players. Wynton Learson Marsalis (b. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

Up to the 1960s Blakey also recorded as a sideman with many other musicians: Jimmy Smith, Herbie Nichols, Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, Grant Green, and Jazz Messengers graduates Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley, amongst many others. However, after the mid-1960s he mostly concentrated on his own work as a leader. A young Jimmy Smith, on the 1958 album House Party Jimmy Smith, nicknamed The Incredible Jimmy Smith, (December 8, 1925 – February 8, 2005) was a jazz musician whose Hammond B-3 electric organ performances helped to popularize this instrument. ... Herbie Nichols (1919–1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer. ... Julian Edwin Cannonball Adderley (September 15, 1928 – August 8, 1975), originally from Tampa, Florida, was a jazz alto saxophonist of the small combo era of the 1950s and 1960s. ... Miles Dewey Davis III (26 May 1926 – 28 September 1991) was one of the most influential musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ... Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935, St. ... Lee Morgan Lee Morgan (born July 10, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-died February 19, 1972 in New York City) was a hard bop trumpeter. ... Henry (Hank) Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist. ...

Awards

• Jazz Mobile Development and Preservation of Jazz (1970)
• Newport Jazz Festival Hall of Fame (1976)
• Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame Reader's Choise Award (1981)
• Smithsonian Performing Arts Certificate of Appreciation (1982)
• Lee Morgan Memorial Award (1982)
• Jazz Hall of Fame Induction (1982)
• Grammy Award Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group (1984) for the album New York Scene
• Jazznote Award (1986)
• Doctorate of Music (1987; Berklee College of Music)
• Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award (1991)
• Grammy Hall of Fame Induction for the album Moanin' (2001)
• Pittsburgh Jazz Festival Award
• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2005; awarded posthumously)

The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every August in Newport, Rhode Island. ... Downbeat can have several meanings: // In Music Theory In music performance and music theory, the downbeat is also the first beat of a measure in music. ... The Smithsonian castle, as seen through the garden gate. ... The Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization founded in 1977 to promote greater awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of big band and jazz music.[1] The organization has inducted more than 200 individuals into its Hall of Fame, maintains an extensive biographical database, and aspires... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group has been presented since 1959. ... Berklee College of Music, founded in 1945, is an independent music college in Boston, Massachusetts with many prominent faculty, staff, alumni, and visiting artists. ... The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have qualitative or historical significance. Alphabetical listing by title: List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients A-D List of Grammy Hall... The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording [1]. This award is distinct from the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which honors specific recordings rather than individuals, and...

Discography

For more details on this topic, see Art Blakey discography.

• 1954: A Night at Birdland Vol. 1 (live, billed as "The Art Blakey Quintet") (Blue Note)
• 1954: A Night at Birdland Vol. 2 (live, billed as "The Art Blakey Quintet") (Blue Note)
• 1955: At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1 (live, billed as "The Jazz Messengers") (Blue Note)
• 1955: At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 2 (live, billed as "The Jazz Messengers") (Blue Note)
• 1956: The Jazz Messengers (Columbia)
• 1957: Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk (Atlantic/Rhino)
• 1957: Orgy in Rhythm (Blue Note)
• 1958: Moanin' (Blue Note)
• 1958: 1958 Paris Olympia (Fontana)
• 1958: Des Femmes Disparaissent/Les Tricheurs (Fontana)
• 1959: At the Jazz Corner of the World (live) (Blue Note)
• 1959: Live in Stockholm 1959 (DIW)
• 1959: Live in Stockholm 1959 (Dragon) — recorded on the same day as the previous disc
• 1960: Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 (Fontana)
• 1960: The Big Beat (Blue Note)
• 1960: Unforgettable Lee! (Fresh Sound)
• 1960: A Night in Tunisia (Blue Note)
• 1960: More Birdland Sessions (Fresh Sound)
• 1960: Live in Stockholm 1960 (Dragon)
• 1960: Lausanne 1960 First Set (TCB)
• 1960: Lausanne 1960 Second Set (TCB)
• 1960: Like Someone in Love (Blue Note)
• 1961: Roots and Herbs (Blue Note)
• 1961: Jazz Messengers (Impulse!)
• 1961: Mosaic (Blue Note)
• 1961: The Freedom Rider (Blue Note)
• 1961: The Witch Doctor (Blue Note)
• 1961: Buhaina's Delight (Blue Note)
• 1962: Three Blind Mice volumes 1 and 2 (Blue Note)
• 1962: Caravan (Original Jazz Classics)
• 1962: The African Beat (Blue Note)
• 1963: Ugetsu (Original Jazz Classics)
• 1963: A Jazz message (Impulse!)
• 1964: Free for All (Blue Note)
• 1964: Kyoto (Original Jazz Classics)
• 1964: Indestructible
• 1966: Buttercorn Lady (Limelight)
• 1973: Child's Dance (Prestige)
• 1973: Mission Eternal (Prestige)
• 1973: Buhaina (Prestige)
• 1977: In My Prime volume 1 (Timeless)
• 1978: In This Korner (Concord)
• 1981: In Sweden (Evidence)
• 1981: Straight Ahead (Concord)
• 1982: Keystone 3 (Concord)
• 1984: New York Scene (Concord)
• 1985: Live at Kimball's (Concord)
• 1988: Not Yet (Soul Note)
• 1988: I Get a Kick out of Bu (Soul Note)
• 1990: Chippin' In (Timeless)

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A Night at Birdland Vol. ... A Night at Birdland Vol. ... At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. ... At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. ... Recorded in 1957, this album was the result of a collaboration of Thelonious Monk with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. ... Buhaina Chant– 10:30 Ya Ya– 7:06 Toffi– 12:20 Split Skins– 8:58 Amuck– 6:49 Elephant Walk– 6:56 Come Out and Meet Me Tonight– 5:43 Abdallahs Delight– 9:46 Categories: | | | | ... Moanin is a jazz album by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, recorded in 1958. ... A Night in Tunisia is a jazz album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, released in 1960. ...

External links

• Official Art Blakey website

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Art Blakey