Art Blakey: An Introduction

Art Blakey: An Introduction

Art Blakey recorded an illustrious catalog of music during his five decades as a drummer and bandleader. Getting his start in 1939 with Mary Lou Williams and into the 1940s in Fletcher Henderson's and Billy Eckstine's big bands, Blakey went on to play in smaller groups with bebop greats such as Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. In the 1950s, Blakey founded the Jazz Messengers—a hard bop band rooted in the fundamentals of swing and blues. The band, credited as one of the inventors of hard bop, fostered numerous gifted young players including Wayne Shorter, Kenny Dorham, and Jazz at Lincoln Center's own Wynton Marsalis. Hear Blakey's original, powerful, and swinging style in the below playlist—a mere snapshot of a momentous discography filled with historic recordings.

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