Art Blakey
50
Vinyl
14 offers from $15.78
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
291
Vinyl
31 offers from $15.74

Track Listings

1	The Chess Players
2	Sakeena's Vision
3	Politely
4	Dat Dere
5	Lester Left Town
6	It's Only A Paper Moon
7	It's Only A Paper Moon (Alt Take)

Editorial Reviews

Recorded on March 6, 1960 Track 7 previously unissued - does not appear on L.P. configuration The classic Blue Note albums which span the mid 1950's to late 1960's were recorded directly on to two track analog tape. No multitrack recording was used and consequently no mixing was required. Therefore, this CD was made by transferring the one step analog master to digital. Blue Note is a registered trademark of Capitol Records, Inc. ℗ 1987 Manhattan Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. Manufactured for Manhattan Records by Capitol Records, Inc. Made and printed in U.S.A. Barcode and Other Identifiers Barcode (Printed): 0 7777-46400-2 2 Barcode (Scanned): 077774640022 Other (DADC): DIDX 935 Blue Note ‎– CDP 7 46400 2

Product details

Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 4.94 x 0.45 inches; 4.8 ounces
Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Emd/Blue Note
Date First Available ‏ : ‎ November 4, 2006
Label ‏ : ‎ Emd/Blue Note
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000005H4L
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #254,386 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #4,533 in Bebop (CDs & Vinyl)
- #117,881 in Pop (CDs & Vinyl)

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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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Anthony Cooper

This lineup is a layup

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2008

This is my third Jazz Messenger CD with Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter, and they are all very good. Art Blakley's formula is to have his players write the song, and the arrangements are simply melody, solos, melody, then end. The trick is to have top-notch players like Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter. Bobby Timmons is no slouch on piano, and Jymie Merritt didn't create big waves in the jazz world but certainly sounds good too. The songs are a masculine bunch. "The Chess Players" is muscular-sounding. "Sakeena's Vision" is more of a lope. "Politely" and "Dat Dere" both strut. "Lester Left Town" also has a strutting feel, but the melody is more slippery. The standard "It's Only A Paper Moon" is more complicated-sounding than the others, and also the best song on the CD.

Despite some of the formulaic nature of this CD, hard bop fans should pick this up.

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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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

アンクルポップ

ねえパパ！( Dat Dare )

Reviewed in Japan on April 23, 2013

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日本にファンキー旋風を引き起こしたアート・ブレーキーがジャズ・メッセンジャーズを率いて初来日したのが 1961年で、産経ホールのカブリツキで熱狂していたのを昨日の事のように思い出されます。その時のピアノがこのボビー・ティモンズで、そのコードアドリブと彼の作曲によるファンキーナンバーに酔わされました。彼はその前年の2年間はキャノンボール・アダレイ・クインテットに在籍して、この"Dat Dare"を提供、演奏しておりましたので、ファンキージャズ旋風の影の主役の一人とも云え、何処のジャズ喫茶でもかかっている人気曲の一曲であったような気がします。どうぞ、永遠の人気曲であるファンキーナンバーの"ダット・デァー"をお聴きください。

6 people found this helpful

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Pen Name

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2018

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Ace

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 !

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Mr. A. J. Brown

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2015

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An old favourite that I needed in digital form. Top class

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