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Posted

Many good iterations, but forced - gun to head - to pick one, it'd be 1954:

Art Blakey Quintet:

Art Blakey - drums

Clifford Brown - trumpet

Lou Donaldson - saxophone (alto)

Curley Russell - bass

Horace Silver - piano

Posted

I like many of the outfits, but I'd have to say my real favorite is the Morgan-Shorter-Timmons-Meritt-Blakey band. Bu is not one of my favorite drummers, but he's a good bandleader and all four of these employees were amazing. And there was no shortage of composers and interesting compositions here.

Posted

The original ones (KD, Mobley, Silver, Watkins, Blakey), followed, I think, by the Morgan, Shorter, Timmons, Merritt ones (with honorary mention to the transitional edition w/Mobley back! I love the live recording by that unit! Chicken an' Dumplins anyone?)

Posted

Great topic. My favorite lineup is the 1960-64 band: Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller, Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, and Jymie Merritt or Reggie Workman. Shorter really matured as a player and composer during this period, Hubbard was hot, and the band had a little bit of an edge that I like.

I also have a (probably eccentric) fondness for the brief period in 1986-87 when Wallace Roney and Kenny Garrett were in the band at the same time. As far as I know, this group was only documented on the Delos album Feeling Good.

Posted

I like many of the outfits, but I'd have to say my real favorite is the Morgan-Shorter-Timmons-Meritt-Blakey band. Bu is not one of my favorite drummers, but he's a good bandleader and all four of these employees were amazing. And there was no shortage of composers and interesting compositions here.

One more vote for this iteration, but must respectively disagree with Lon when it comes to Blakey as a drummer. The only other guy who pushed a band like Blakey was Shelly Manne. Both are very high on my list of favorites,

Posted

Great topic. My favorite lineup is the 1960-64 band: Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller, Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, and Jymie Merritt or Reggie Workman. Shorter really matured as a player and composer during this period, Hubbard was hot, and the band had a little bit of an edge that I like.

If this were a poll, I'd vote for this iteration as well.

Posted

My favorite lineup is the 1960-64 band: Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller, Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, and Jymie Merritt or Reggie Workman. Shorter really matured as a player and composer during this period, Hubbard was hot, and the band had a little bit of an edge that I like.

My favorite lineup as well. The 3-horn front line allowed for more ambitious writing, and there were no less than four superb writers in the band.

Posted

Bu is one of my 3 favorite drummers in the music.

My favorite bands are hard to sort out. My first imprint was on the Morgan/Shorter/Timmons band (I consider the band with Walter Davis as the same group). Next was the early dates with KD on trumpet. Though Byrd was a substitution, he was not replacement. I feel closer to the M/S/T band.

My favorite Wayne solos are on Roots and Herbs. I can sing them to you.

Posted

My favorite Art Blakey and the Messengers band is the one with Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, and Doug Watkins.

The runner-up choice would be the one with Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, Jymie Merritt or Reggie Workman.

The band with Jackie McLean and or Johnny Griffin and Bill Hardman is underrated. That band was hard swinging though a bit rough around the edges.

Posted (edited)

The one I've never heard, with Tyrone Washington and Woody Shaw (this line-up existed briefly for a few months (maybe even less) around April 1969).

All kidding aside, my two favorite Jazz Messenger albums are these (and they're different, though recorded within the same year, '68 I think)-- both with Billy Harper...

blakey_artb_liveatslu_101b.jpgblakey_artb_moanin~~~_101b.jpg

The second date is also a live recording (probably recorded in Europe, or so I've read here and there) -- different recordings/tunes too (with slightly different line-ups) -- and both recordings are from 1968. Good sound quality on both too, IMHO.

These are my all-time favorite Blakey JM recordings, hands-down.

Edited by Rooster_Ties
Posted

No drummer was better at driving a band than Art Blakey. My favorite edition of the Messengers was the Morgan/Shorter/Timmons/Merritt band, but I love all of them from the KD/Mobley band thru the Hubbard/Shorter/Fuller band, as long as Mr. Blakey was driving.

Posted

The original ones (KD, Mobley, Silver, Watkins, Blakey), followed, I think, by the Morgan, Shorter, Timmons, Merritt ones (with honorary mention to the transitional edition w/Mobley back! I love the live recording by that unit! Chicken an' Dumplins anyone?)

I got your back, Roi Ubu. Those are my choices exactly.

Posted (edited)

For me, the band that epitomized hard bop was Blakey, Hardman, McLean, Dockery and DeBrest. I have about seven of their (now largely forgotten) albums. This is probably their best:

h34007twjlu.jpg

Edited by BillF
Posted

The original ones (KD, Mobley, Silver, Watkins, Blakey), followed, I think, by the Morgan, Shorter, Timmons, Merritt ones (with honorary mention to the transitional edition w/Mobley back! I love the live recording by that unit! Chicken an' Dumplins anyone?)

I got your back, Roi Ubu. Those are my choices exactly.

:tup

The sextet lineup with Hubbard (or Morgan), Shorter, Fuller, Reggie Workman & Cedar Walton.

That's the band I first thought of... "Free for All" might be THE Blakey album for me - first I heard... before "Moanin'" (second I heard), so yes, the Golson/Morgan edition is up there, too!

For me, the band that epitomized hard bop was Blakey, Hardman, McLean, Dockery and DeBrest. I have about seven of their (now largely forgotten) albums. This is probably their best:

h34007twjlu.jpg

Hm, I finally found the BN CD of this one... some others I enjoy better, including the VIK ones (Night in Tunisia, Lerner & Loewe) and of course the Atlantic with Monk!

As for favorite obscure Messengers: the three cuts with Ira Sullivan and Wilbur Ware are pretty cool, too!

Posted

For me, the band that epitomized hard bop was Blakey, Hardman, McLean, Dockery and DeBrest. I have about seven of their (now largely forgotten) albums. This is probably their best:

h34007twjlu.jpg

Hm, I finally found the BN CD of this one... some others I enjoy better, including the VIK ones (Night in Tunisia, Lerner & Loewe) and of course the Atlantic with Monk!

Three cheers for Ghost of Miles who gave this band the attention it deserves in this radio show:

http://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/art-blakeys-jazz-messengers-class-of-57/

Long live "Stanley's Stiff Chickens" and "Cranky Spanky"! :)

Posted

Difficult to say, but I particularly like the Hardman/Griffin band on the Lerner and Loewe record(RCA). Lee Morgan playing Paper Moon is a killer too. So for me it comes down the the recordings rather than the group. I'm not that fond of Golson Messengers and most of the post Blue Note bands.

Posted

I seem to be the only one who prefers the group with Golson. Maybe because it was the first one I heard.

The Philly crew! Golson, Morgan, Timmons, and Merritt. thumbs_up.gif

Plus that guy from Pittsburgh. rolleyes.gif

Posted

I love Golson's compositions but prefer Hank in the tenor chair.

The riches of that band over a 15 year period is comparable only to the different Horace Silver bands. Of course the bigger difference is in the songwriting but its hard to go wrong with any Blakey group from when the band started to at least the end of the Hubbard-Shorter et al sextet.

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