Weather Report - A Remark You Made (1977)

This LP is a gateway drug for those who have their doubts about fusion.

For more in this vein, may I suggest Joe Zawinul’s Cannon Ball, a beautiful dedication to his old bandleader, the great Cannonball Adderley.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Joelle (1961)

From Nat Hentoff’s liner notes:

“Ever since he beame a leader, Art Blakey and his various colleagues during any given period have indeed been messengers. The message is swift and clear — know your horn, use it convey the immediacy of your experience, and listen to what’s going on around you. You can always tell an Art Blakey combo in the first few bars. There’s no waste of time or motion, no pretentious preludes. These are men taking care of business with forceful economy, deep roots in the essentials of the jazz language, and that particular flair — a jaunty élan — that is the hallmark of an Art Blakey unit. 

As it happens, this particular group was one of Blakey’s best — a fusion of independent stylists who nurtured each other’s ardor with a seriousness and a joyfulness of musical purpose that gives this music its impregnable identity. It is an album that will have something to say to you as long as you’re around to listen.”

Wayne Shorter with Lee Morgan in the background during Shorter’s Night Dreamer session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, April 29 1964 (photo by Francis Wolff)

Morgan appeared on Art Blakey’s Indestructible five days earlier, and he’s sporting the head bandage there, too.

[l to r] Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, and Curtis Fuller during Art Blakey’s Indestructible session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, April 24 1964 (photo by Francis Wolff)

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers Live in Sanremo Italy — March 3, 1963

Rare Italian television footage of a prime-time Messengers lineup:

Wayne Shorter - sax; Freddie Hubbard - trumpet; Curtis Fuller - trombone; Cedar Walton - piano; Reggie Workman - bass; Art Blakey - drums

(Source: youtube.com)

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Kozo’s Waltz (1960)

From the liner notes:

Kozo’s Waltz again finds Lee [Morgan] paying tribute to his wife’s heritage. Loosely translated, kozo is a Japanese word roughly equivalent to our “kid.” It is the name the Morgans have given to their pet poodle. The tune is an infectious, up tempo arrangement. Blakey dips in and out of the foreground and displays his magnificent skill as a soloist and rhythm pacer.

This is prime Messengers, with a special hat tip to Bobby Timmons’ fluid lines.

Wayne Shorter during his Et Cetera session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, June 14 1965 (photo by Francis Wolff)

[left to right] Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller, and Wayne Shorter during Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers’ Mosaic session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, October 2 1961 (photo by Francis Wolff)

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Crisis (1961)

From Leonard Feather’s liner notes on the Japanese debut of this Messengers sextet:

The type of audience reached by Art and his men in Japan, the sensitivity of the reaction, and the financial success of the tour, made the return home seem sadly anticlimactic. “We’ve played a lot of countries,” said Art, “but never before had the whole band been in tears when we left.”

Japan loves Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers.

Lee Morgan - Search For The New Land (1964)

I had to compress this mp3 file significantly to fit the 10MB limit, so apologies for the less than stellar audio quality. This 15-minute tour de force, however, is worth the occasional tinniness of the drumkit. 

Enjoy this ensemble for the ages, which presses every available modal button to create what is arguably one of the definitive statements in 60s jazz.

More from this date here.