ART BLAKEY & THE JAZZ MESSENGERS w/ SABU MARTINEZ: CU-BOP

ART BLAKEY (a.k.a Abdullah Ibn Buhaina)
Arthur (Art) Blakey (October 11, 1919–October 16, 1990), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, he was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Along with Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, he was one of the inventors of the modern bebop style of drumming. He is known as a powerful musician and a vital groover; his brand of bluesy, funky hard bop was (and remains) profoundly influential on mainstream jazz. Over more than 30 years his band the Jazz Messengers included many young musicians who went on to become prominent names in jazz. The band's legacy is thus not only the often exceptionally fine music it produced, but as a proving ground for several generations of jazz musicians; it is equivalent to Miles Davis's bands in this regard
---------
THE JAZZ MESSENGERS
The origins of the Messengers are in a series of groups led or co-led by Blakey and pianist Horace Silver, though the name was not used on the earliest of their recordings.The "Jazz Messengers" name was first used on a 1954 recording nominally led by Silver, with Blakey, Hank Mobley, Kenny Dorham and Doug Watkins. Two of the group's most famous lineups featured Wayne Shorter on saxophone. The first was a quintet that existed from 1959 to 1961 and included Blakey, Shorter, Jymie Merritt, Lee Morgan, and Bobby Timmons. The second (1961–1964) was a sextet that added trombonist Curtis Fuller and replaced Morgan and Timmons with Freddie Hubbard and Cedar Walton, respectively.
-----------
SABU MARTINEZ : (1930 - 1979)
Louis “Sabu” Martinez was born July 14th, 1930 in New York City's El Barrio (Spanish Harlem). As a youth he got into all sorts of trouble but also banged on cans in a street band. His professional career began at age 11, when he began playing Latin percussion for renowned mambo and jazz bands, touring. In 1944 he returned from Puerto Rico to New York, where he continued to play in famous bands and develop his technique. Sabu claimed the Lecuona Cuban Boys as major influences as well as the legendary Chano Pozo. In 1948 Sabu replaced Pozo in Dizzy Gillespie's last big band; the baton of Afro-Cuban jazz drumming literally was passed to Sabu. He joined Benny Goodman the following year. Other mentors were his friends Art Blakey, with whom he was associated from 1949 to 1958, Arsenio Rodriguez, and Candido. He was a member of the original Joe Loco Trio, which recorded the first mambo in America. He performed with other luminaries such as Xavier Cugat, Tony Bennett, and Sammy Davis, Jr. From 1953 to 1957, Sabu recorded with Art Blakey, memorably leading a rhythm section on the fantastic “Orgy in Rhythm” session. The Blakey/Sabu recordings showcase the interplay of two master drummers and successfully pair both African and [African-derived] Latin rhythms. Like many jazzmen in the late 1950s, Sabu struggled with heroin addiction, which took its toll on him as on all of jazz. He took odd jobs and even left music for a time, but with the help of friends he landed new gigs. In 1960 he joined Louie Ramirez briefly to record one of the masterpieces of Latin jazz, “Jazz Espagnole.” He married and moved to Sweden permanently in 1967. Sabu died January 13, 1979, of a gastric ulcer. He was neither the first nor the last jazz-conga virtuoso, but he may well have been the best. Certainly he led an exciting life and was in most of the right places at the right times. Fortunately he left behind an incredible variety of unique, Important, and truly excellent records.
=========
MINHA OPINIÃO - Art Blakey foi um dos maiores bateristas de jazz de todos os tempos mas, a meu ver, sua importância como descobridor e formador de talentos no Jazz Messengers só se iguala às descobertas de Stan Kenton. Só pra lembrar alguns dos músicos que passaram pelos Jazz Messengers: BILL EVANS, WINTON MARSALIS, PAUL CHAMBERS, WINTON KELLY, JOHN COLTRANE...chega ou querem mais? Uma academia e uma usina de som, na acepção maior do termo.

(*)Sabu Martinez, apesar de ter sido um dos maiores percussionistas do latin jazz, teve uma existência conturbada, envolvimento com drogas, exilio na Suécia, morreu cedo, fatos que acabaram por deixar seu nome esquecido. Mas vou postar outros albuns de Sabu, para provar que ele faz parte do "dream team" da percussão afro cubana ao lado de Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Chano Pozo, etc.

---------
Art Blakey & The Messengers w/ Sabu Martinez : CU- BOP
Label: Jubilee
Year: 1957

THE JAZZ MESSENGERS
Art Blakey - drums
Johnny Griffin, tenor;
Bill Hardman, trumpet;
Sam Dockery, piano;
"Spanky" DeBrest, bass.
"Sabu" Martinez, congas, .

TRACKS/FAIXAS
Woodyn' You
(Dizzy Gillespie) - 6:10

Sakeena
(Art Blakey) - 11:55

Shorty
(Johnny Griffin) - 4:32

Dawn on the Desert
(Charlie Shavers) - 12:45

DOWNLOAD / AQUI