Art Blakey: Blues March (1958)
Track
Blues March
Group
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
CD
Moanin’ (Blue Note 95324)
Musicians:
Art Blakey (drums), Lee Morgan (trumpet), Benny Golson (tenor sax), Bobby Timmons (piano), Jymie Merritt (bass).
Recorded: Hackensack, N.J., October 30, 1958
Rating: 92/100 (learn more)
Art Blakey at Birdland, photo by Marcel Fleiss
Benny Golson wrote four compositions for the album Moanin’, acclaimed as the best recording by arguably the best edition of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. “Blues March,” the first piece he composed for the group, became the most popular arrangement in the band’s repertoire. Much of the tune’s appeal lay in its uniqueness. It opens with a military-style drum cadence and roll-off that reappears several times and features a driving, march-like beat that eventually fades away. But superimposed over the unorthodox format are a clever Golson melody and swinging solos by Golson, trumpeter Lee Morgan, and pianist Bobby Timmons.
Reviewer: David Franklin
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Tags: blue note · drums · hard bop
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