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Art Blakey, king of the drums.



Someone inquired about North African music, and while perusing my collection in an attempt to help; I ran across Art Blakey, who is neither North or South African, but who's music is "king" of the African Beat.

I give you "The African Beat"; featuring ART BLAKEY, drums; SOLOMON G. ILORI, vocal, penny whistle, talking drum; CHIEF BEY, conga, telegraph drum, double gong; MONTEGO JOE, bambara drum, double gong, corboro drum, log drum; GARVIN MASSEAUX, chekere, African maracas, conga; JAMES OLA FOLAMI, conga; ROBERT CROWDER, BATA DRUM, conga; CURTIS FULLER, tympani; YUSEF LATEEF, oboe, flute, tenor sax, cow horn, thumb piano; AHMED ABDUL MALIK, bass.

"Orgy in Rythm Vols one and two" is the next CD. ART BLAKEY, ARTHUR TAYLOR AND JO JONES on drums; SABU, bongo, timbales; 'POTATO' VALDEZ, JOSE VALIENTE congas; UBALDO NIET, timbales; EVILIO QUINTERO, tree log, HERBIE MAN, flute; RAY BRYANT, piano; WENDELL MARSHALL bass.

These two CD's will take you to the jungle, make you want to put on a grass skirt, and shake "yo booty".

What's your favorite Blakey?
orpheus10

Showing 3 responses by cfluxa

cfluxa's avatar
cfluxa
127 posts
 
Not the first to observe this, I know, but is there anything else quite like the way Lee Morgan's trumpet solo comes screaming out of the gate in "Moanin""? it gets me every time.

As for Mr. Blakey - it must be said he just swings bigger and badder than anyone else. Gotta check out those African recordings..
cfluxa's avatar
cfluxa
127 posts
 
Orpheus - I'd have a hard time saying you and his many enthusiastic fans are wrong. Did some listening yesterday with this question in mind, and a lot of the time he makes Miles sound academic by comparison - a guy who, I've often felt, sounds interested more in what's his head than the trumpet itself. I think Clifford Brown and Donald Byrd also had some great moments during their Art Blakey stints. And there is often a sense that Lee Morgan is great and he knows it, whereas Brownie and Byrd tend to just play their hearts out in a way that's hard to beat. Still, I don't think anybody ever really quite "had his way with the trumpet" the way Lee Morgan did. In his hands, the brass just becomes a living animal.
cfluxa's avatar
cfluxa
127 posts
 
Orpheus - aside from what Lee Morgan did with Blakey, all I've got is "Sidewinder," "Leeway" and "Procrastinator" - have been curious about "Search for the New Land" for a while, just decided to scoop it up on Amazon, your Mingus comment sold me... thanks for the tip!
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