Given the limited activity of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for the Riverside label, Caravan is a somewhat curious early entry in the string of remasters making up the Keepnews Collection. Even avid ...

Blakey led his band for almost 40 years, making many classic records with top musicians. Just Coolin', a newly unearthed 1959 recorded studio session, showcases his stylistic precision. This is FRESH ...

The bassist’s reissued ‘Mingus at Monterey’ and the drummer’s previously unreleased ‘Strasbourg 82’ highlight both musicians ...

So said, Abdullah Ibn Buhaina (1919-1990), more widely known to the world of jazz by his pre-Islamic name: Art Blakey. Blakey was my first introduction into the musicality of jazz drumming and, in ...

My fellow Americans, jazz fans, and NPR Music browsers around the globe: There is a U.S. presidential election contest going on, as I'm sure you've noticed. But I come to you today on the birthday ...

Few groups shaped modern jazz like Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Formed in the 1950s, the Messengers became the heartbeat of hard bop—soulful, blues-driven, always swinging. Blakey’s thunderous ...

Art Blakey was not the first musician to declare: "I always wanted to be regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the world," as he did in a 1984 San Diego Union interview. (The full interview ...

Art Blakey, a pivotal jazz drummer and a founding father of bebop, died of lung cancer Tuesday at St. Vincent`s Hospital in New York. Mr. Blakey, who turned 71 last week, had been scheduled to open ...

Art Blakey was born 100 years ago, on Oct. 11, 1919, and America's homegrown music — jazz — might not sound quite like it does today if it weren't for the influence of the late drummer. "I would call ...

Jazz drummer Art Blakey brought a propulsive, irresistible swing to his playing, an intensity that drove his ensembles like dry leaves before the wild hurricane. “He was a volcano,” said Gordon ...

Looking back on his time as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Javon Jackson can say, "It's still probably the most incredible period of my life." The celebrated tenor saxophonist joined the ...