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Art Blakey, king of the drums.



Someone inquired about North African music, and while perusing my collection in an attempt to help; I ran across Art Blakey, who is neither North or South African, but who's music is "king" of the African Beat.

I give you "The African Beat"; featuring ART BLAKEY, drums; SOLOMON G. ILORI, vocal, penny whistle, talking drum; CHIEF BEY, conga, telegraph drum, double gong; MONTEGO JOE, bambara drum, double gong, corboro drum, log drum; GARVIN MASSEAUX, chekere, African maracas, conga; JAMES OLA FOLAMI, conga; ROBERT CROWDER, BATA DRUM, conga; CURTIS FULLER, tympani; YUSEF LATEEF, oboe, flute, tenor sax, cow horn, thumb piano; AHMED ABDUL MALIK, bass.

"Orgy in Rythm Vols one and two" is the next CD. ART BLAKEY, ARTHUR TAYLOR AND JO JONES on drums; SABU, bongo, timbales; 'POTATO' VALDEZ, JOSE VALIENTE congas; UBALDO NIET, timbales; EVILIO QUINTERO, tree log, HERBIE MAN, flute; RAY BRYANT, piano; WENDELL MARSHALL bass.

These two CD's will take you to the jungle, make you want to put on a grass skirt, and shake "yo booty".

What's your favorite Blakey?
orpheus10
orpheus10 OP
8,668 posts
 
Adam18, while all of Blakey's different groups were consistently good, they were also very different. Which one was the best depends on your mood when you're listening to it. With me, which ever Blakey I'm listening to at the time, was the best.
cfluxa's avatar
cfluxa
127 posts
 
Not the first to observe this, I know, but is there anything else quite like the way Lee Morgan's trumpet solo comes screaming out of the gate in "Moanin""? it gets me every time.

As for Mr. Blakey - it must be said he just swings bigger and badder than anyone else. Gotta check out those African recordings..
orpheus10 OP
8,668 posts
 
In my opinion, Lee Morgan was the best jazz trumpet ever; and there are many enthusiastic fans who have the same opinion.
cfluxa's avatar
cfluxa
127 posts
 
Orpheus - I'd have a hard time saying you and his many enthusiastic fans are wrong. Did some listening yesterday with this question in mind, and a lot of the time he makes Miles sound academic by comparison - a guy who, I've often felt, sounds interested more in what's his head than the trumpet itself. I think Clifford Brown and Donald Byrd also had some great moments during their Art Blakey stints. And there is often a sense that Lee Morgan is great and he knows it, whereas Brownie and Byrd tend to just play their hearts out in a way that's hard to beat. Still, I don't think anybody ever really quite "had his way with the trumpet" the way Lee Morgan did. In his hands, the brass just becomes a living animal.
orpheus10 OP
8,668 posts
 


Cflux, you've compared Lee Morgan to my other favorites; this proves you are a true connoisseur of jazz trumpet.

As great as Miles, Clifford, and Donald Byrd were; Lee Morgan soars like an eagle above them on "Search for the New Land". While his mastery of the trumpet was beyond reach, his musical imagination approaches that of Mingus, on "Search for the New Land". I can visualize a modern dance troupe doing a thing to this music.

I'm sure you have "The Best of Lee Morgan" on Blue Note. I can hear the words on his version of "Since I Fell For You", better than I can on a vocal version.

Enjoy the music.
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