Edward Lee Morgan was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s and a cornerstone of the Blue Note label, Morgan came to prominence in his late teens, recording with bandleaders like John Coltrane, Curtis Fuller, Dizzy Gillespie, Hank Mobley and Wayne Shorter, and playing in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.
Jymie Merritt was an American jazz double-bassist, Ampeg Baby Bass and bass guitar pioneer, band leader and composer. Merritt was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers group from 1957 until 1962. The same year he left Blakey's band, Merritt formed his own group, The Forerunners, which he led sporadically until his death in 2020. Merritt also worked as a sideman for blues and jazz musicians such as Bull Moose Jackson, B. B. King, Chet Baker, Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lee Morgan.
A Night in Tunisia is a studio album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, released in May 1961 through Blue Note Records. It was recorded in August 1960 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, also called Moanin', is a studio album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers recorded on October 30, 1958 and released on Blue Note later that year.
The Freedom Rider is an album by jazz drummer Art Blakey and his group the Jazz Messengers, recorded in 1961 and released in 1964 by Blue Note Records. Continuing Blakey's distinct brand of hard bop, this album features compositions from Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Blakey himself, and Kenny Dorham, a former Jazz Messenger. This was the final album by this particular edition of the Jazz Messengers, who had been together for 18 months, as Lee Morgan left after this album and was replaced by Freddie Hubbard.
Roots & Herbs is a jazz album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, recorded in 1961 at the same sessions which produced The Freedom Rider, but not released on the Blue Note label until 1970. The CD reissue features three alternate takes, two of which originally released in 1979 on Pisces.
Mosaic is a studio album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers recorded for Blue Note on October 2, 1961 and released the following year. The sextet features horn section Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard and Curtis Fuller and rhythm section Cedar Walton, Jymie Merritt and Art Blakey.
Pisces is a jazz album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers. It was recorded between 1961 and 1964, but not issued on Blue Note Records until 1979. More a compilation than an album, all the tracks, except for "It's A Long Way Down", may be found on the Mosaic compilation The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Art Blakey's 1960 Jazz Messengers. Moreover, "Uptight", and "Pisces" are included on the CD reissue of The Freedom Rider, whilst "It's a Long Way Down" is featured on the CD reissue of Indestructible. Ultimately, "United" and "Ping Pong" may be found on Roots & Herbs.
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers is a studio album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, released on September 1, 1961, through Impulse! Records. Expanding to a sextet for the first time, it was the group's final recording with Bobby Timmons, who would be replaced by Cedar Walton.
The Witch Doctor is an album by American jazz drummer and bandleader Art Blakey and his group The Jazz Messengers, recorded on March 14, 1961 and released in 1967 by Blue Note Records. It features performances by Blakey with Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons, and Jymie Merritt.
Like Someone in Love is an album by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. It was recorded in August 1960, at the same sessions which produced A Night in Tunisia, but was released on Blue Note only in August 1967. It features performances by Blakey with Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons, and Jymie Merritt.
The Big Beat is an album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers recorded on March 6, 1960 and released on Blue Note later that year. The quintet features horn section Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter and rhythm section Bobby Timmons, Jymie Merritt and Blakey.
Drums around the Corner is a posthumous album by Art Blakey recorded in 1958 and 1959, but not released until 1999.
At the Jazz Corner of the World, Vols. 1 & 2 are a pair of separate but related live albums by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, recorded at the Birdland jazz club in New York City on April 15, 1959 and released on Blue Note later that year in September and October respectively. The quintet features horn section Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley and rhythm section Bobby Timmons, Jymie Merritt and Art Blakey.
1958 – Paris Olympia is a live album by drummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers recorded at L'Olympia in 1958 and originally released on the French Fontana label.
Des femmes disparaissent is a soundtrack album to the French film of the same name by drummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers recorded in Paris in 1958 and originally released on the French Fontana label. Originally released as a 10 inch LP it has been subsequently released in LP and CD formats with additional French soundtrack material from the same period by other jazz artists. A few of the songs on the soundtrack are original songs by Benny Golson like "Whisper Not", "Just for Myself", "Cry a Blue Tear", “Blues on my Mind”, and "Fair Weather".
"Moanin'" is a composition by Bobby Timmons, first recorded by Art Blakey's band the Jazz Messengers for the album of the same title that was released by Blue Note Records. Both the single and album are in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the outset. "Art Blakey" and "Jazz Messengers" became synonymous over the years, though Blakey did lead non-Messenger recording sessions and played as a sideman for other groups throughout his career.
"Yes sir, I'm gonna to stay with the youngsters. When these get too old, I'm gonna get some younger ones. Keeps the mind active."
The Jazz Messengers were a jazz band that existed with varying personnel for 35 years. Their discography consists of 47 studio albums, 21 live albums, 2 soundtracks, 6 compilations, and one boxed set.
Art Blakey et les Jazz-Messengers au club St. Germain are a set of live albums recorded on December 21, 1958, at the Club St. Germain in Paris, France by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, released in three volumes by French RCA. All three albums have been collected on CD in the 2015 Sony box set, The Complete Columbia and RCA Albums Collection.
