One of my favorite albums by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers has a baffling title. For some reason, Impulse Records decided the title should be Art Blakey Jazz Messengers The confusing result is that some refer to the album as Impulse!!! or Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers!!! while those in Japan know the album as Alamode.
Whatever title you choose, the album is an explosion of energy and beauty. Recorded in June 1961, the Messengers lineup consisted of Art Blakey (d), Lee Morgan (tp), Curtis Fuller (tb), Wayne Shorter (ts), Bobby Timmons (p) and Jymie Merritt (b).
The tracks are Fuller's À la Mode, Invitation, Bob Russell's Circus, You Don't Know What Love Is, I Hear a Rhapsody and Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You.
In each case, Blakey and the Messengers turn each song inside out with spectacular ferocity. This LP would be Timmons's last recording with the Messengers before being replaced on piano by Cedar Walton.
Here's the complete Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers without ad interruptions...
Unfamiliar with Circus? Here's Chris Connor singing the song in 1956...
Whatever title you choose, the album is an explosion of energy and beauty. Recorded in June 1961, the Messengers lineup consisted of Art Blakey (d), Lee Morgan (tp), Curtis Fuller (tb), Wayne Shorter (ts), Bobby Timmons (p) and Jymie Merritt (b).
The tracks are Fuller's À la Mode, Invitation, Bob Russell's Circus, You Don't Know What Love Is, I Hear a Rhapsody and Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You.
In each case, Blakey and the Messengers turn each song inside out with spectacular ferocity. This LP would be Timmons's last recording with the Messengers before being replaced on piano by Cedar Walton.
Here's the complete Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers without ad interruptions...
Unfamiliar with Circus? Here's Chris Connor singing the song in 1956...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved.
