Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - Caravan

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Also releasing on March 1 is the long-awaited rerelease of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers’ Caravan. “Slick, fluid, professional . . . This is the kind of reissue that gives jazz a good name,” the BBC once gushed about this 1963 album. As a bandleader for four decades, Blakey was a drummer’s drummer, adored for his pioneering solos, many referencing African rhythms. The Pittsburgh native, recognized by the Smithsonian, would go on to mentor everyone from Lee Morgan to Wynton Marsalis. Caravan opens with one such percussive drive in its title track (a Duke Ellington co-write) and spreads out from there to spectacular effect. Greedy listeners won’t regret bee-lining to the nuanced yet invigorating “This Is for Albert,” where Blakey’s drums entwine effortlessly with Cedar Walton’s keys. The song contrasts satisfyingly with the balladic, honeyed song that precedes it, “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” previously popularized by Frank Sinatra.