Art Blakey

Arthur "Art" Blakey (born 11 October 1919 in Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and died on 16 October 1990 ) is a drummer and bandleader of jazz American, also known under the name of Abdullah Ibn Buhaina.

Art Blakey was with Kenny Clarke and Max Roach one of the inventors of the battery style bebop modern, and was one of the pillars of the genre Hard Bop . He and his group, The Jazz Messengers even today continue to have a great influence on jazz, not only by the powerful style bluesy and funky drummer but also to have "launched" many young future large names in jazz, several decades.

Summary
[masquer]
 * 1 Biography
 * 1.1 Early career
 * 1.2 The Jazz Messengers ...
 * 1.3 ... and beyond
 * 2 Awards
 * 3 Discography
 * 4 Equipment
 * 5 Videos
 * 6 Notes and references
 * 7 External links

Early career [ edit | edit the code ]
In 1940, Art Blakey played in the orchestras of Mary Lou Williams , Fletcher Henderson , and Billy Eckstine . He converted to Islam during a long stay in West Africa, in the late 1940s and took the name of Abdullah Ibn Buhaina (hence its nickname "Bu"). This African tour is however subject to controversy, some claiming that Blakey has never been absent from the United States so long.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Blakey participates in prestigious music groups such as Miles Davis , Bud Powell or Thelonious Monk . It will appear including the first recording of the latter as a leader (in 1947, for the label Blue Note ), and his last (in 1971 in London ).

The Jazz Messengers ... [ edit | edit the code ]
In 1950, Blakey directs with pianist Horace Silver series of groups under various names. They record in particular one of the first records "live" of Jazz , A Night at Birdland, in February 1954, under the name of Art Blakey Quintet. The group includes, in addition to Blakey and Silver, the young trumpeter Clifford Brown on sax alto Lou Donaldson and bassist Curly Russell . It was also in 1954 that the name Jazz Messengers is used for the first time to designate the quintet, now composed of Blakey, Silver, Hank Mobley , Kenny Dorham and Doug Watkins . In 1956, they recorded an eponymous album for the label Columbia . Silver who left the group, who then becomes Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, a name he held until the death of the drummer.

The orchestra will pass through many changes in composition, two of them among the most famous including Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone. First in a quintet of 1959 to 1961, and a sextet from 1961 to 1964which also includes trombonist Curtis Fuller . During its commitments in the Jazz Messengers, Shorter plays the role of musical director of the group, and some of his compositions, such as Lester Left Town, will remain essential elements of the Messengers directory. Other musicians who left a lasting mark on the Jazz Messengers, including one finds Bobby Timmons , composer Dat Dere and Moanin ', Benny Golson ,Along Came Betty and composer Are You Real, and later, Bobby Watson. Under the influence of Wayne Shorter, the group ventured into the New Thing in 1960, recording the faces that carry the obvious mark of the influence of the albums of John Coltrane on the label Impulse! , as in Free for All ( 1964 ).

... And beyond [ edit | edit the code ]
During his career, Art Blakey recorded dozens of albums, constantly changing the composition of the Jazz Messengers to integrate young and promising musicians. After experiencing some difficulty in crossing the mode jazz fusion in the 1970s, the group was again rejuvenated thanks to the advent in the early 1980s of a jazz "neo-traditionalist", embodied in particular by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis , who At one time musical director of the group. Art Blakey persevered in this vein after the departure of Marsalis, giving them a chance to many "young lions" as Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison and Kenny Garrett .

After ending touring the Jazz Messengers in the late 1980s, Art Blakey died in New York in 1990 , leaving behind one of the richest heritages in the history of Jazz. Including having helped propel the fore the batteryoriginally purely accompanying instrument, to make it an instrument soloist and director, he still has a great influence on the new generations of "hard-boppers." He also enjoyed throughout his career, immense popularity in France, appearing especially with the Jazz Messengers in the film by Roger Vadim Dangerous Liaisons 1960 in 1959 .

Awards [ edit | edit the code ]

 * National Endowment for the Arts - NEA Jazz Master: appointment and rewarded as a Jazz Master in 1988  (NB: the most prestigious award of the American nation for jazz).

Discography [ edit | edit the code ]
Main article: Discography of Art Blakey .

[afficher]

List of albums as leader Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with

Equipment [ edit | edit the code ]
Kit: Gretsch Drums Cymbals: Zildjian
 * 5.5 "x14" Snare
 * 8 "x12" Tom
 * 14 "x14" Tom
 * 20 "Bass Drum
 * 14 "New Beat Hi-Hats
 * 18 "A Crash Ride
 * 21 "A Sweet Ride
 * 18 "A Crash Ride

Videos [ edit | edit the code ]

 * 2004 Live at the Village Vanguard
 * 2003 Live at the Smithsonian
 * 2003 Live from Ronnie Scott's (DVD)
 * 2003 Modern Jazz at the Village Vanguard
 * 2001 Jazz Life, Vol. 2
 * 1998 Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
 * 1995 The Jazz Messenger (Video / DVD)
 * 1986 At Ronnie Scott's London (Video)
 * 1983 Jazz at the Smithsonian