Most drummers achieve greatness by the way they support other musicians, but Art Blakey found immortality in the way he led his band. Apart from the way his rock steady rhythms and jaw-dropping fills contributed heavily to recordings by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and others, Blakey's group, the Jazz Messengers (formed with Horace Silver in 1954), became the graduate school of four decades of up-and-coming musician. Players such as Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Johnny Griffin, Wayne Shorter, Hank Mobley, Freddie Hubbard, Donald Byrd, Walter Davis, Terence Blanchard, and Wynton and Branford Marsalis cut their teeth under Blakey's tutelage.

Despite the ever-changing lineup of new and individual talents, the Jazz Messengers consistently presented a singular vision to the listening public, thanks to the power of Blakey's direction. Just about anything with Blakey's name on the cover is worth a spin, but Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers on Savoy, Caravan on Riverside, and the Blue Note titles Orgy in Rhythm, Drums Around the Corner, Africaine, Big Beat, Freedom Rider, A Night in Tunisia and especially Moanin' come highly recommended. Blue Note's History Of The Jazz Messengers is a generous overview of Blakey's voluminous work for the label. (Karl Pallmeyer)