In mid 1956, the Jazz Messengers broke up as a co-operative group. Art Blakey inherited the name and Horace Silver recruited the sidemen in his quintet. This album was just a studio get-together with Hank Mobley, Donald Byrd, Doug Watkins and drummer Louis Hayes until the unexpected radio success of the Latin-tinged “Senor Blues” drafted Silver into being a working bandleader. With six originals including \u201cCool Eyes\u201d and one standard, meticulously arranged and performed, Horace became a major voice in modern jazz.[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yKWphXfIsxs” el_width=”60″ align=”center”][vc_column_text]\n
From its forceful piano and drums intro to the funky ensemble melody, this one of the most captivating\u00a0 fusions of jazz and Latin music. Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley glide over the rhythm with a hipster\u2019s ease. After a short \u201cshout\u201d chorus which became a Silver trademark, Horace locks up with Watkins and Hayes for a penetrating Latin-tinged solo.[\/vc_column_text][vc_zigzag el_width=”60″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n
In 1956, the sublime quartet of John Coltrane, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones recorded \u201cChamber\u2019s Music\u201d for a small West Coast label. A year later with Lee Morgan and Curtis Fuller added, Coltrane recorded his first great masterpiece. His compositions, \u201cBlue Train,\u201d \u201cMoment\u2019s Notice\u201d and \u201cLazy Bird\u201d have become jazz standards and this is one of the best jazz albums of all time<\/span><\/a>. The superbly executed and blended ensembles have a haunting quality and each solo is a memorable treasure.[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HT_Zs5FKDZE” el_width=”60″ align=”center”][vc_column_text]\n The title tune, \u201cBlue Train\u2019\u201d is 10 minutes and 44 seconds of pure magic. This blues is built on a somber five-note melody. Coltrane is first out of the gate with a breath-taking, seamless scalular solo that foreshadows his \u201cGiant Steps<\/span>.\u201d The 18-year-old Lee Morgan follows with the same approach, no mean feet for a trumpeter. The solos of Curtis Fuller, Kenny Drew and Paul Chambers mine the tune for its bluesy character.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_zigzag el_width=”60″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n On February 4, 1958, Miles Davis added Cannonball Adderley to his quintet (John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones) to produce one of his greatest albums. The band tore through jazz classics like John Lewis\u2019s \u201cTwo Bass Hit\u201d and Monk\u2019s \u201cStraight No Chaser\u201d and more recent blues like Jackie McLean\u2019s \u201cDr. Jackle\u201d and \u201cSid\u2019s Ahead.\u201d The tune \u201cMilestones,\u201d was the trumpeter\u2019s first piece to explore modal playing.[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=k94zDsJ-JMU” el_width=”60″ align=”center”][vc_column_text]\n The 40-bar tune \u201cMilestones\u201d altered the course of jazz by directly addressing modality as an alternative to conventional chord sequences. Cannonball Adderley\u2019s solo balances his prodigious technique with fresh ideas. Miles\u2019s solo is more relaxed and lyrical. Coltrane\u2019s dazzling solo shows real affinity for this kind of structure. This excellent performance paved the way for \u201cKind Of Blue\u201d a year later. It would remain in Miles\u2019s repertoire for more than a dozen years.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_zigzag el_width=”60″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n Though Rollins was already considered a promising and important tenor player, this 1956 landmark recording with Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins and Max Roach assured his place in history. His mature and virtuosic explorations of “Moritat” (“Mack The Knife”) and “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” his roaring West Indian signature piece “St. Thomas,” “Strode Rode” and “Blue Seven” all achieve near perfection.[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hCMNWVTxZI4″ el_width=”60″ align=”center”][vc_column_text]\n Sonny Rollins\u2019s \u201cSt. Thomas\u201d uses an infectious West Indian melody and rhythm. Rollins builds his solo carefully with fragments of the melody moving into his compelling exploration of the piece. The solos of Max Roach and Rollins (his second) are simultaneously graceful and forceful.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_zigzag el_width=”60″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n Art Blakey introduced the great edition of the Jazz Messengers with Benny Golson, Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons and Jymie Merritt on this, one his best jazz album<\/span><\/a>s. The band was cohesive and loaded with great material. Bobby Timmons’s “Moanin'” and Benny Golson’s “Along Came Betty” and “Blues March” were tunes so powerful that Blakey played them almost every night for the next 30 years. This beautifully performed and recorded session made the Jazz Messengers a jazz institution and put Golson, Timmons and Morgan to the forefront of jazz. Blakey set a hi8gh standard with this album.[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Cv9NSR-2DwM” el_width=”60″ align=”center”][vc_column_text]\nFeatured Track: Blue Train<\/em><\/h3>\n
Miles Davis \u2013 Milestones<\/h3>\n
Featured Track: Milestones<\/em><\/h3>\n
Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus<\/h3>\n
Featured Track: St. Thomas<\/em><\/h3>\n
Art Blakey: Moanin’<\/h3>\n
Featured Track: Moanin’<\/em><\/h3>\n