Art Blakey

Arthur (Art) Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, (October 11, 1919 - October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Along with Kenny Clarke and Max Roach he was one of the inventors of the modern, bebop style of drumming. He was known as a powerful musician and a ferocious groover. He is undoubtedly one of the most influential jazz musicians ever; his brand of bluesy, funky hard bop is now the mainstream form of jazz. Over more than thirty years his band, the Jazz Messengers, included many young musicians who went on to become some of the most prominent names in jazz, including Jackie McLean, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Curtis Fuller, Donald Byrd, Cedar Walton, Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons, Jymie Merritt, Wynton Marsalis, Gary Bartz, Keith Jarrett, and Johnny Griffin. It is now widely regarded as an important training ground for many of the best young hard bop players of the time.

Later career

Blakey went on to record dozens of albums with a constantly changing group of Jazz Messengers - he had a policy of encouraging young musicians. He also recorded as a sideman for many other musicians - Jimmy Smith, Herbie Nichols, Cannonball Adderley, and Jazz Messengers graduates Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley, amongst others. He continued performing and touring with the group into the late 1980s, and he died in 1990 in New York City, leaving behind a vast legacy and approach to jazz which still survives today, through the recordings of Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, and other "Young Lions".

Related Topics:
Jimmy Smith - Herbie Nichols - Cannonball Adderley - Lee Morgan - Hank Mobley - 1980s - 1990 - New York City - Branford Marsalis - Terence Blanchard

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