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, electric-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.
Buhaina's Delight is a jazz album released by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in 1963. Produced by Alfred Lion, the album was recorded in two sessions on November 28, 1961 and December 18, 1961 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The album was released by Blue Note Records in July 1963 after Blakey had moved to Riverside Records in late 1962.
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.
A Jazz Hour with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers: Blues March is a 1995 CD release by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers for Movieplay records.
Leeway is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 28, 1960 and features performances by Morgan with Jackie McLean, Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers and Art Blakey.
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 on the Blue Note label. 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.
Africaine is a collection of 1959 recordings by jazz artist Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. The collection was not released until over 20 years after it was recorded. The album features tenor-saxophonist Wayne Shorter in his first recording with The Jazz Messengers, trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Walter Davis, Jr. and bassist Jymie Merritt.
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.
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.
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.
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