“The Art Of Jazz” was therefore also the pun that producer Mike Hennessey dreamed up at the time to give the unique moment a dignified motto. Because in fact Art Blakey‘s special way of compressing this art, swing, pulsating groove,

daring arrangements and flickering solos into gripping pieces, which sometimes received the status of catchy and well-known tunes,

represents everything we understand by the term “jazz” optimally even today. That this document of contemporary history has now be newly released

on the occasion of the 100th Art Blakey‘s birthday on October 11 will not only delight fans of the great drummer, but will also evoke memories of a golden era of this musical genre, which unfortunately only still exists on sound recordings.

German television network (ZDF) even recorded Art’s birthday party for its show “Jazz Club” and later broadcast it in full. This is not the only reason why the question once again arises: Do live recordings capture the character of jazz better than studio recordings? You can immediately sense and hear the enthusiastic joy of playing, the

exuberant atmosphere and the party character of this special evening if you let the recording affect you 30 years after the concert. A lot of different things had to come together at the time to make

a moment like this possible at all. Hennessey, and his wife Gaby Kleinschmidt as a concert agent were correspondingly proud of the result, which once again demonstrated Blakey‘s uniqueness as a drummer with his polyrhythmic introductions, drum rolls and the proverbial independence of all four limbs as well as his authority as a band leader.

In addition to a good hour of music, the lovingly and carefully edited new edition also provides a nearly 13-minute interview that Mike Hennessey had with Art Blakey back in 1976: an extraordinarily lively document in which he talks about his résumé, his career, his conception of drums, but also

about the Jazz Messengers and his twelve natural and adopted children. In addition to Art Blakey‘s classic recordings from the 1950s and 1960s, the celebration of his 70th birthday is one of his most important ones in retrospect. Another reason is because it has become the legacy of one of the very best in jazz history.

The Jazz Messengers:

Donald Harrison (as)

Jovan Jackson (ts)

Brian Lynch (tr)

Frank Lacy (tb)

Essiet Okon Essiet (b)

Geoff Keezer (p)

With Special Guests

Wayne Shorter (ts)

Benny Golson (ts) Jackie Mclean (as)

Freddie Hubbard (tr)

Terence Blanchard (tr)

Curtis Fuller (tb)

Walter Davis Jr. (p)

 

Buster Williams (b)

Roy Haynes (dr)

Michele Hendricks (voc)