Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – At The Jazz Corner Of The World Vol. 1 (1959

In the '60s, when John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman were defining the concept of a jazz avant-garde, few knowledgeable observers would have guessed that in another 30 years the music's mainstream would virtually bypass their innovations, in favor of the hard bop style that free jazz had apparently supplanted. As it turned out, many listeners who had come to love jazz as a sophisticated manifestation of popular music were unable to accept the extreme esotericism of the avant-garde; their tastes were rooted in the core elements of "swing" and "blues," characteristics found in abundance in the music of the Jazz Messengers, the quintessential hard bop ensemble led by drummer Art Blakey. In the '60s, '70s, and '80s, when artists on the cutting edge were attempting to transform the music, Blakey continued to play in more or less the same bag he had since the '40s, when his cohorts included the likes of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Fats Navarro. By the '80s, the evolving mainstream consensus had reached a point of overwhelming approval in regard to hard bop: this is what jazz is, and Art Blakey -- as its longest-lived and most eloquent exponent -- was its master.


This first of two LPs features a transitional version of The Jazz Messengers with longtime members drummer Art Blakey, trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Bobby Timmons and bassist Jymie Merritt being joined by tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley who was with the group briefly between Benny Golson and Wayne Shorter. This live set is highlighted by Mobley's "Just Coolin'" and Thelonious Monk's "Justice," although the other selections (including Mobley's funky "Hipsippy Blues") are all quite enjoyable.




Tracklist:

Introduction By Pee-Wee Marquette
A1 Hipsippy Blues
A2 Justice
A3 The Theme
Introduction By Art Blakey
B1 Close Your Eyes
B2 Just Coolin'

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – At The Jazz Corner Of The World Vol. 1
(320 kbps, cover art included)