Art Blakey

• BLUE NOTE 80 VINYL REISSUE SERIES

• THEME: DRUMMER LEADERS SERIES PART 1

• 180G ANALOG VINYL

• FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTERS TAPES

The line-up of drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers shifted in 1961 with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard replacing Lee Morgan, pianist Cedar Walton replacing Bobby Timmons, and the addition of Curtis Fuller on trombone who joined existing members Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone and Jymie Merritt on bass. This powerful new sextet line-up first recorded on the album Mosaic, and quickly returned to the studio the next month to begin recording Buhaina’s Delight. The album featured 3 compositions by Shorter (“Backstage Sally” “Contemplation” “Reincarnation Blues”) along with 1 each by Fuller (“Bu’s Delight”) and Walton (“Shaky Jake”), closing with an high-intensity arrangement of “Moon River.” Arguably the finest lineup of the Jazz Messengers (with the possible exception of the Lee Morgan edition), this incarnation of the band -- Blakey, saxophonist Wayne Shorter (here playing tenor), young trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Cedar Walton, and bassist Jymie Merritt -- set the tone for the hard bop movement of the '60s. Overall, you won't find a better representation of what modern mainstream jazz sounds like. Blakey and his band are on it from start to finish.

This Blue Note 80 Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

PERSONNEL:

• FREDDIE HUBBARD, trumpet
• CURTIS FULLER, trombone
• WAYNE SHORTER, tenor sax
• CEDAR WALTON, piano
• JYMIE MERRITT, bass
• ART BLAKEY, drums

Englewood Cliffs, N.J., November 28, 1961

TRACKS:

• SIDE A:
• A1. Backstage Sally
• A2: Contemplation
• A3: Bu's Delight

• SIDE B:
• B1: Reincarnation Blues
• B2: Shaky Jake
• B3: Moon River