Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Art Blakey
Very few drummers or bandleaders have had the impact on jazz that Art Blakey did, using his explosive playing to drive the whole hard-bop movement and his extraordinary series of bands called the Jazz Messengers. Throughout his career, Blakey was a tireless advocate of the enduring values of bop, and he created a forum in which younger talents could flourish. There are some classic versions of bop standards here, likeDizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia," heard in a brilliant 1960 version, andThelonious Monk's "Evidence," with Monk at the piano on a 1957 recording. There are also tunes by Blakey sidemen that would become standards themselves: pianistBobby Timmons's "Moanin'" andBenny Golson's "Blues March," among them. In its peak years--the late 1950s and early '60s--the Messengers were a launching pad for brilliant players like trumpetersLee MorganandFreddie Hubbardand saxophonistWayne Shorter. In its later versions, the Messengers even spurred the careers of younger traditionalists, includingWynton Marsalis.--Stuart Broomer