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Editorial Reviews

With "The Big Beat" Art Blakey introduced a highly original saxophonist and composer to the jazz world. Wayne Shorter's "The Chess Players" and "Lester Left Town" have since become jazz standards. The album also gave the Jazz Messengers a hit with Bobby Timmons' "Dat Dere" and their version of "It's Only A Paper Moon" is hard bop at its most exciting.

* bonus tracks, not part of the original LP

ART BLAKEY, drums
LEE MORGAN, trumpet
WAYNE SHORTER, tenor sax
BOBBY TIMMONS, piano
JYMIE MERRITT, bass

Product details

Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.88 x 5.55 x 0.47 inches; 3.32 Ounces
Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Blue Note Records
Item model number ‏ : ‎ 2128725
Date First Available ‏ : ‎ July 26, 2006
Label ‏ : ‎ Blue Note Records
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0009X77DQ
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #206,474 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #3,438 in Bebop (CDs & Vinyl)
- #114,448 in Pop (CDs & Vinyl)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 44 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

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Transfigured Knight

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers At Their Best!

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2007

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Drummer Art Blakey has recorded some great bebop albums in his day and this one is one them.

Joining Blakey on his trip down Splash Mountain are Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons on piano, Jymie Merritt on bass, and of course Blakey on drums.

This album was recorded almost around the same time as "Moanin'" which features one of the hottest lineups of the Messengers' long history. Every song on this album is swinging like crazy and has strong melodies and great improvisations. This album features two of my favorite Messengers' tunes "Dat Dere" and "Sakeena's Vision."

If you're just getting into Art Blakey, then start with this album. If you enjoy good 60s bebop then buy this album.

The remastering of this album is very well done. It sounds great for 1960. It sounds like it's been cleaned up and that's always good thing.

Other great Messengers' albums "A Night in Tunisia," "Moanin," "Caravan," "Ugetsu," "Mosaic" and "Free For All," which features one of the most aggressive Blakey performances ever.

8 people found this helpful

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Michael S. Vandy

Hard Bop Swing

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2016

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Classic hard bop. What can you say. My favorite Art Blakey. Blakey's drumming really swings, which gives his output a different feel than other hard bop recordings, in which the drum is often back in the mix, tapping out rhythms on the ride cymbal and accenting things generally... but not in charge of the rythm. It makes Blakey different... in my opinion. Combine that with the characteristic Blue Note sound. Great.

The Chess Players and Sakeena's Vision are my favorite tracks, but really... the ablum hangs together with a musical cohesion that I appreciate.

3 people found this helpful

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Flora m bauer

Master jazz

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2013

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The songs are classics, I love some ART BLAKEY & JAZZ MESSENGERS music.
Back in the sixty I grew up with his big band. The Big Beat is stunning

One person found this helpful

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Big Al

Classic Jazz at it's best!

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2016

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One of the all time great Jazz Drummers.

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Michael Hardin

As good a start as any

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2005

People talk about "Moanin'" as being the first album to get when getting into Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Although Moanin' was my first Messengers album (aside from the Ken Burns Art Blakey CD, but that doesn't really count as an album), and I proceeded to buy "A Night in Tunisia" and "Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers," I could never really warm up to them until I had heard this one. I immediately loved this album for its great compositions, great solos, and deep, powerful swing, and it really served as a launching point for me to go out and get everything this group cut, everything other Messengers lineups cut, and many albums by the various sidemen. So I have to confess that this album holds a special place in my heart.

"The Big Beat" was recorded in 1960 and features Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Bobby Timmons on piano, and Jymie Merritt on bass, with the leader on drums. Though all of these musicians had recorded together with Blakey prior to this, this is the first time this specific lineup recorded, and they would go on to record seven more albums over the next year and a half. Though all of the albums are very good (and some are spectacular), this may be the best, perhaps along with "A Night in Tunisia" and "Roots & Herbs." Wayne Shorter supplies three originals, all of which are interesting, swing hard, and provide a good basis for the soloists. Of special note is "The Chess Players," a very bluesy, medium tempo tune that may seem atypical of Wayne's work, especially his later stuff, but it's just quirky enough in form to indicate where the young composer was going. Also, the rendition of "It's Only a Paper Moon" is far from being a cheesy gimmick, as one might suspect; instead, there's an aura of playful mystery that is helped (or perhaps created) by Lee Morgan's genious trumpet playing. It's one of my favorite cuts on the album.

All in all, this is a very accessible, hard-swinging album and a fantastic introduction to the Jazz Messengers and what this edition was all about. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes jazz regardless of their listening experience. There's something on every level here.

46 people found this helpful

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Mike Tarrani

A hidden gem with one of my favorite Jazz Messengers line-ups

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2013

If you will pardon the pun this album is off the beaten path of Jazz Messenger albums. I do not know how it managed to slip past me for years, but it's quickly become one of my favorites.

While I can cite the line-up or the fact that all but two tracks are Jazz Messenger alumni compositions, the essence is in the music itself. If you are looking at the CD version's page there are, sadly, no sound samples at the time of this review. There are samples on the MP3 album's page at The Big Beat (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition) . Give those a listen to get an idea of the music.

While the samples are short, if you are familiar with this edition of the Jazz Messengers with Lee Morgan on trumpet and Wayne Shorter on tenor sax you will find the compositions to be familiar sounding. Not repetitive, but familiar because three of the tracks (1, 2 and 5) are Wayne Shorter compositions and one (Dat Dere) was penned by Bobby Timmons who is on piano on this album. Alumni Bill Hardman wrote a song as well (Politely).

The album was recorded at Rudy van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio for Blue Note on March 6, 1960. Morgan, Shorter and Timmons are backed by bassist Jymie Merritt and, of course, Blakely on drums. This is hard bop at its best, albeit with a mellower edge that characterized the group with Morgan and Shorter in front. It's still hot and it's still driving, but is more complex and cerebral to my ears.

5 people found this helpful

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Ian Thumwood

Band showcase

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2016

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I was prompted by the other review that this was some sort of Art Blakey "lost masterpiece" and was intrigued as it wasn't a disc I had heard about before, eve if the tune "Lester left town" is a standard. My initial listen was that it was a bit under-whelming with the most interesting soloist being Lee Morgan who is on fire on the session and his ideas are the sparkiest element of the disc. Recorded in 1960, this is really early Wayne Shorter and I don't think that he had quite arrived at his own unique style with some of his solos being peppered with more notes and perhaps a busier approach than might have been expected. I quite like Bobby Timmon's piano too even if it is pretty clear that the Jazz Messenger's were still playing very much in the style of the more famous, mis-named "Moan'" record.

I don't think this is a classic / essential recording but it is a very fine effort that reveals Blakey's ability as a band-leader and how his encourage the people writing for the band to help shape it's identity. The care and attention to the writing as well as the craftsmanship to such matters as dynamics raise this several notches above the stereotypical Hard Bop session. Blakey's style of drumming is not quite as intrusive as on some of his records. The whole disc motors along like a well-oiled machine and the compositions have enough about them to retain the interest. Stylistically , I have always felt that a lot of the jazz recorded in the early 1960's had more to do with the way jazz had evolved in the latter half of the 1950's and this is very much true of this session. The record lacks both the memorable tunes on "Moanin'" and the skull-cracking carnage of "Free for all" (the most testosterone driven Hard Bop record on Blue Note?) but , if you have either of these two essential JM records, this is well worth a punt as it demonstrates what a good band this was.

3 people found this helpful

freddiefreejazz

les débuts discographiques de wayne shorter chez art blakey...

Reviewed in France on April 1, 2017

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Cette publication d'Art Blakey avec ses Jazz Messengers marque les débuts discographiques du saxophoniste Wayne Shorter au sein du collectif. Dans les notes de livret, on apprend que c'est au cours de l'été 1959 que le saxophoniste ténor intégra le groupe du batteur. Il était alors membre de la section cuivre de l'orchestre de Maynard Ferguson. Lee Morgan alla le voir et le recruta sur le champ car Hank Mobley n'était pas disponible. Six mois plus tard (le 6 mars 1960), il enregistre donc The Big Beat dans le studio de Rudy Van Gelder (Blue Note) aux côtés d’un collectif quasiment insurpassable dès qu’on évoque le hard bop (ce mouvement né au milieu des années 50 avec Blakey, Clifford Brown et Max Roach). A la même époque, Wayne faisait ses débuts aux côtés de Wynton Kelly dans le premier album du pianiste pour le label Vee Jay. Hélas, de réécouter cet album, rien de bien inoubliable hors mis deux titres (« Lester Left Town », une composition de Wayne Shorter et « Dat Dere », la fameuse composition de Bobby Timmons). Ce set est pourtant très efficace (des compositions comme le standard « It’s Only A Paper Moon » et même les premières compos de Shorter ne sont pas encore aussi surprenantes qu’elles ne le seront plus tard, que ce soit aux côtés d’Art Blakey ou chez Miles). Le saxophoniste essaie néanmoins de prendre ses marques, et ma foi, y arrive plutôt bien.

Dans la discographie du batteur, cette session laisse vraiment peu de souvenirs (du moins, ça n’est là que mon avis). Lee Morgan (trompette) est bien entendu à son aise, et la rythmique assure du tonnerre ! Comment pourrait-il en être autrement ? Seulement le collectif d’Art Blakey ne prend pas trop de risques ici. Et surtout, il allait nous bouleverser quelques années plus tard avec l’arrivée de Curtis Fuller (trombone), Reggie Workman (contrebasse) et Cedar Walton (piano). Leur performance au Birdland en 1963 (Ugetsu, Riverside) est dans toutes les mémoires, ainsi que leur album studio, le sublime Free for All (Blue Note, 1965) ! Bref, c’est un disque que l’on peut se procurer (sans difficulté) si l’on est « complétiste » mais qui n’appellera forcément de nouvelles écoutes passionnées ou passionnantes. Si l’on veut découvrir ce collectif « historique », mieux vaut se tourner vers d’autres galettes, telles que Moanin’ (Blue Note, 1958), Indestructible (1964) ou encore le Live In Paris (Fontana, 1959). Une captation « live » existe également de ce quintet : Meet You At The Jazz Corner (enregistré quelques mois après ce set studio). A bon entendeur !

One person found this helpful

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maoyam

Swing like there's no tmrw

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2013

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Great sound, amazing performance and audible interplay makes this one of the essential disc for hard-bop lovers. Up-tempo take on Shorter's composition, "Lester Left Town" is simply breathtaking. Buy if you have a CD player. NOW

4 people found this helpful

Pen Name

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2018

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Ace

Mr. A. J. Brown

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2015

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