"Moanin'" | |
---|---|
Song by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers | |
from the album Moanin' | |
Language | English |
Written | 1950s |
Released | January 1959 |
Recorded | October 30, 1958 |
Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack |
Genre | Hard bop |
Length | 9:35 |
Label | Blue Note |
Composer(s) | Bobby Timmons |
Lyricist(s) | Jon Hendricks |
Producer(s) | Alfred Lion |
Official audio | |
"Moanin'" on YouTube |
"Moanin'" is a composition by Bobby Timmons, first recorded by Art Blakey's band the Jazz Messengers for the album of the same title [1] that was released by Blue Note Records. [2] Both the single and album are in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
"Moanin'" has a call and response melody. [1] One account of its creation was given by Benny Golson, the tenor saxophonist in Blakey's band: Timmons had the opening eight bars, which he often played between tunes, but formed the complete song only after Golson encouraged him to add a bridge. [3] It is played in F minor.
"Moanin'" was first recorded, by Art Blakey's band the Jazz Messengers, [1] on October 30, 1958, with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Benny Golson on tenor sax, Bobby Timmons on piano, and Jymie Merritt on bass. [2] It has been recorded numerous times and has become a jazz standard. [4] Gary Giddins stated that the song "set the music world on its ear" and that it was "part of the funky, back to roots movement that Horace Silver, Mingus, and Ray Charles helped, in different ways, to fan". [5] Jon Hendricks later added lyrics, [5] and the subsequent recording by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross made the song even more popular. [6]
The original recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998; the album on which it appeared was added in 2001. [7]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World, Vols. 1 & 2 are a pair of separate but related live albums by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers recorded at the Birdland jazz club on September 14, 1960 and released on Blue Note in July 1961 and May 1962 respectively. The quintet features horn section Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter and rhythm section Bobby Timmons, Jymie Merritt and Art Blakey. In 2002, the two LPs were reissued as a double-CD set.
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.
Buhaina is an album by drummer Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers recorded in 1973 and released on the Prestige label. The name comes from the name Blakey took for himself after conversion to Islam.
Jazz Messengers '70 is a live album by drummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers recorded in Tokyo in 1970 and originally released on the Catalyst label.
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".
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.
Art Blakey et les Jazz Messengers au Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a live album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on November 15, 1959, and originally released on the French RCA Records label. The first official release of this material on CD was in the 2015 Sony box set, The Complete Columbia and RCA Albums Collection, with three bonus tracks.