Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in saxophone and piano playing.
Arthur Blakey was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s.
Robert Henry Timmons was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was a sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for two periods, between which he was part of Cannonball Adderley's band. Several of Timmons' compositions written when part of these bands – including "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and "This Here" – enjoyed commercial success and brought him more attention. In the early and mid-1960s he led a series of piano trios that toured and recorded extensively.
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.
A Night at Birdland, Vols. 1–3 are three separate but related 10" LPs by the Art Blakey Quintet recorded live at the Birdland jazz club on February 21, 1954, and released on Blue Note later that year, in July, October and November respectively. The quintet features horn section Clifford Brown and Lou Donaldson and rhythm section Horace Silver, Curly Russell and Blakey.
A Night at Birdland, Vols. 1 & 2 are a pair of separate but related live albums by the Art Blakey Quintet, recorded at the Birdland jazz club on February 21, 1954 and released on Blue Note in 1956. The performance was originally spread out over three 10" LPs as A Night at Birdland Vols. 1–3 (1954).
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.
The Cooker is an album by American jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan recorded on September 29, 1957, and released on Blue Note in January 1958. The quintet features saxophonist Pepper Adams and rhythm section Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones.
Leeway is an album by American jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan recorded on April 28, 1960 and released on Blue Note the following year. Morgan's quintet features saxophonist Jackie McLean and rhythm section Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers and Art Blakey.
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.
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.
Benny Golson and the Philadelphians is an album by saxophonist Benny Golson which was recorded in November and December 1958. Originally released on the United Artists label, the album was re-issued in 1998 on the Blue Note label with four additional bonus tracks.
Night in Tunisia: Digital Recording is an album by drummer Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers recorded in Japan in 1979 and released on the Dutch Philips label. The album was one of the earliest digital recordings of a jazz artist and was also released as a direct to disc recording in Japan.
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."
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.
The Art of Jazz: Live in Leverkusen is a live album by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers at the Leverkusen Jazz Festival in Germany on October 9, 1989. To commemorate Blakey's 70th birthday, the concert featured many special guests—most of whom were former Messengers. Singer Michelle Hendricks sang a song – "Mr. Blakey"—composed for the occasion by founding Messenger Horace Silver.
That's Funky is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Golson that was recorded in 1994 and originally released by the Japanese Meldac Jazz label before being reissued by Arkadia Jazz in 2001.
