The Message Before the Messengers: The origins of the name: The Jazz Messengers – 1955-1959
Bart Miltenberger and I did a deep dive into the early years of the Jazz Messengers and Art Blakey’s leadership. We tried to answer our questions of where/when did Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers title assert itself? What are the modern signatures of the Messenger’s sound? And were they were they part of the original, collaborative Messenger’s concept. The following annotated discography links to the recordings on Youtube (click the album title), any available historical data (click on the date) + resources, Timeline and artist bios. Please send any questions and the Seshjawn video will be added here at some point. Good listening!
The Collective Jazz Messengers:
The 1st “Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers” (2nd group):
Bill Hardman, Jackie McLean, Sam Dockery & Spanky DeBrest – Johnny Griffin sometimes
Resources:
Key:
* = Messengers in title
# = Blakey & Silver
~ = @ least 3 “original” members on the recording
{ = Blakey & called Messengers – but no other regular members
} = Messengers w/out Blakey
^ = Philly
@ = Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers
Discography:
12/27/1947 * – Art Blakey’s Messengers “New Sounds” – Blue Note, Kenny Dorham tr,
Haleen Rashid trb, Sahib Shihab as, Musa Kaleem ts, Ernest Thompson bs, Walter Bishop Jr. p, Laverne Barker b, Art Blakey d
Tracks: #10-14 “The Thin Man”, “Bop Alley” X2, “Groove St.” & “Musa’s Vision”
December 22, 1947 * –Art Blakey leads a Big Band called “Seventeen Messengers” between 47-49
1954 – reissue of “Night at Birdland” material in 1974 described as a Live Messengers album, though the Messengers title was not actually used on that concert.
_____________1955
“The Messengers started out as a collective of friends pooling their resources and playing what they liked. “Horace had the quartet at Minton’s,” Mobley said, “then on weekends Art Blakey and Kenny Dorham would come in to jam, ’cause they were right around the corner. Out of that we started feeling something, and we said, ‘Let’s do our thing; we all got something going name-wise; if anyone gets a job let’s use all of us.’ I think [drummer] Arthur Edgehill was working with somebody else, too, but Blakey was right there. Horace’d get a job, or Art, or Kenny, or I’d get a job; we’d split the money equally.”” *Mobley Article
December 13, 1954 & February 6, 1955 *^# – “Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers” – Blue Note – Silver, Mobley, Watkins, Dorham, Blakey
January 30 and March 29, 1955 ~^# – Kenny Dorham – “Afro-Cuban” – Blue Note – Silver, Blakey, Mobley, Dorham + J. J. Johnson, Cecil Payne, Percy Heath, Oscar Pettiford, Carlos “Patato” Valdes, Richie Goldberg
March 27, 1955 ~^# – “Hank Mobley Quartet” – Blue Note – Silver, Blakey, Mobley and Doug Watkins
November 23, 1955 *^# – The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia v. 1-3— Silver, Blakey, Mobley, Dorham and Doug Watkins
December 2, 1955 ~#^ – “Byrd’s Eye View” – Transition/Blue Note – + Joe Gordon tr
_____________1956
January 30 & February 8, 1956 }*~ – “The Jazz Message of Hank Mobley” – Savoy – Byrd, Mobley, Watkins, Silver + John LaPorta as, Ronnie Ball p, Wendell Marshall b, Kenny Clarke d **”The Jazz Message” had 3 Donald Byrd led tracks w/out Mobley and was paired with “Cattin’” and as “The Jazz Message of..” and also released as “Hank Mobley’s Hard Bop”
***The Savoy Mobley/Byrd/Morgan sessions are released as a 2CD collection called “The Birth of Hard Bop”
April 6 & May 4, 1956 *^# – The Jazz Messengers – Columbia – Silver, Blakey, Mobley, Donald Byrd and Doug Watkins – ****Last Messengers album with Horace Silver
Feb. 22, 1956 & December 13, 1956 *^ – “Drum Suite” – Columbia – tr. 4-6 – McLean, Hardman, DeBrest, Sam Dockery p 12/13/56 – tr. 7-9 – Byrd, Ira Sullivan ts, Kenny Drew p, Wilbur Ware b – 2/22/56 – 3 different sessions & ensembles combined but under Blakey’s Jazz Messengers moniker: Tracks 1-3 Percussion Ensemble; 4-6 New Messengers & 7-9 “other” group w/ Byrd
July 2, 17-18, 1956 ~^ – “Silver’s Blue” – Blue Note – Silver, Mobley, Watkins, Byrd + Kenny Clarke or Art Taylor d, Joe Gordon t (instead of Byrd some tracks).
July 20, 1956 *~^ – “Mobley’s Message” – Prestige – Mobley, Byrd, Watkins + Barry Harris p, Taylor d, McLean as – on 1 track
July 23 & November 7, 1956 *~^ – “Jazz Message No. 2” – Savoy – Mobley, Watkins, Byrd or Lee Morgan t, Clarke or Taylor d, Harris or Hank Jones p
July 27, 1956 ~^ – “Mobley’s 2nd Message” – Prestige – Mobley, Dorham, Watkins + Taylor d, Walter Bishop p
November 10, 1956 ~^ – “6 Pieces of Silver” – Blue Note – Silver, Mobley, Watkins, Byrd, Hayes
November 25, 1956 ~^ – “Hank Mobley Sextet” – Blue Note – Byrd, Silver, Morgan t, Paul Chambers b, Charlie Persip d
12/8/1956 ~^ – “Watkin’s at Large” – Transition/Blue Note – Byrd, Watkins, Mobley + Kenny Burrell g, Duke Jordan p, Art Taylor d
December 12 & 13, 1956 *^@ – Hard Bop – Columbia – Blakey, Bill Hardman, Jackie McLean, Sam Dockery & Spanky DeBrest
****New Jazz Messengers arrive, Blakey begins recording with this new group frequently
____________1957
January 14, 1957 and February 11, 1957 *^ – “Ritual” – Blue Note – same pers.
January 13, 1957 ~^# – “Hank Mobley and His All Stars” – Blue Note – Mobley, Blakey, Silver, Watkins + Milt Jackson vib.
February 11, 1957 ~^ – “A Date with Jimmy Smith V. 1 & V.2” – Blue Note – Blakey, Dorham, Mobley + Lou Donaldson as, Jimmy Smith org, Eddie McFadden g, Don Bailey d
Tracks: “Falling in Love with Love”, First Night Blues”, “Funk’s Oats”, “Groovy Date” & “I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart” – Tracks are spread out over several Los & on Mosaic “The Complete February 1957 Jimmy Smith Blue Note Sessions” only 2/11/57 dates feat. Blakey, Mobley etc.
March 3, 1957 # – “Blowing in from Chicago” – Blue Note – Blakey, Silver + Clifford Jordan & John Gilmore ts, Curly Russell b
March 8, 1957 ~^# – “Hank Mobley Quintet” – Blue Note – Silver, Watkins, Blakey, Art Farmer t
March 8 & 9, 1957 *{^@ – “A Midnight Session with the Jazz Messengers” – Elektra – Blakey, Hardman, McLean, Dockery, DeBrest
March 13, 1957 *^ – “Selections from Lerner and Loewe’s…” – Vik/RCA Victor – same pers. Johnny Griffin ts, instead of McLean
Spring, 1957 *^ – “Tough” – Cadet – Hardman, McLean, Dockery, Debrest ****Unreleased till 66’
April 2 & 8, 1957 *^ – “A Night in Tunisia” – Vik/RCA Victor – same pers. + Johnny Griffin
April 14, 1957 # – “Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2” – Blue Note – Blakey, Silver + Thelonious Monk p, Paul Chambers b, JJ Johnson trom, Sonny Rollins ts
May 13, 1957 *^ – “Cu-Bop” – Jubilee – Blakey, Dockery, McLean, DeBrest, Griffin, Hardman + Sabu Martinez congo/bongo
May 14–15, 1957 *^ – “Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk” – Atlantic – Blakey, DeBrest, McLean, Griffin + Thelonious Monk p
October 9 & 11, 1957 *^ – “Hard Drive” – Bethlehem – Blakey, Hardman, DeBrest, Griffin, Dockery or Junior Mance p,
_____________1958 – Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers the brand launches
***^ – October 30, 1958 – “Moanin’” Blakey & Jazz Messengers = Brand – Morgan, Golson, Timmons & Merritt
Found Sounds 