At The Jazz Corner Of The World, Volume 1 & 2

Product Description:

Full performer name: Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: Art Blakey (drums); Hank Mobley (tenor saxophone); Lee Morgan (trumpet); Bobby Timmons (piano); Jymie Merritt (bass).

Producer: Alfred Lion.

Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna.

Recorded live at Birdland, New York, New York on April 15, 1959. Originally released on Blue Note (84015, 80416). Includes original release liner notes by Leonard Feather.

Whenever Art Blakey & his Jazz Messengers recorded a live set, it was assured that at least some of the dynamic energy of their powerful performance would be captured on tape. Just such a performance was recorded at the legendary Birdland on April 15, 1959. This two-disc set is a stunning document of the classic Messengers lineup featuring Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley on the front line, the soulful Bobby Timmons on piano and the ever-present bassist Jymie Merritt laying down the beat alongside the mighty Blakey.

The Messengers of the late '50s and early '60s were the epitome of the style known as hard-bop. In performance the raw energy and assertive drive that fueled the music was unleashed as in the opening "Hipsippy Blues" and the blistering "Justice." Also, the laid-back swing of tunes like Mobley's "Just Coolin'" and the slinky "Chicken An' Dumplins" display the gospel influence that was so prevalent in the Messengers' approach. Of course, Blakey's monstrous drumming is the drive behind boisterous barnburners like "M & M" and the closing tour-de-force "Art's Revelation." In all, this is one of the hardest swinging dates the band ever recorded.