Jazz Messengers

The Jazz Messengers
Genres	Jazz hard bop
Years active	1955 (1955)–1990 (1990)
Labels	A&M Atlantic Bethlehem Soul Note Blue Note Cadet Catalyst Colpix Columbia Concord Jazz Amigo Delos Elektra Fontana Impulse! Jubilee Limelight Pacific Jazz Palcoscenico Philips Prestige Vik Riverside Roulette Sonet Timeless United Artists
Past members	Dale Barlow Mickey Bass Art Blakey Terence Blanchard Joanne Brackeen Cameron Brown Donald Brown Bobby Broom Donald Byrd George Cables Chick Corea Steve Davis Spanky DeBrest Sam Dockery Kenny Dorham Robin Eubanks Charles Fambrough Curtis Fuller Carlos Garnett John Gilmore Benny Golson Benny Green Johnny Griffin Bill Hardman Donald Harrison Philip Harper John Hicks Freddie Hubbard Dennis Irwin Javon Jackson Carter Jefferson Geoffrey Keezer Frank Lacy Brian Lynch Wynton Marsalis Branford Marsalis Jackie McLean Jymie Merritt Mulgrew Miller Hank Mobley Lee Morgan Essiet Okon Essiet Billy Pierce Lonnie Plaxico Valery Ponomarev Wallace Roney Gregory Charles Royal David Schnitter Woody Shaw Clarence Seay Wayne Shorter Horace Silver Victor Sproles Bobby Timmons Jean Toussaint McCoy Tyner Cedar Walton Peter Washington Doug Watkins Bobby Watson James Williams Reggie Workman

The Jazz Messengers were an influential jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the outset. "Art Blakey" and "Jazz Messengers" became synonymous over the years, though Blakey did lead non-Messenger recording sessions and played as a sideman for other groups throughout his career.

The group evolved into a proving ground for young jazz talent. While veterans occasionally re-appeared in the group, by and large, each iteration of the Messengers included a lineup of new young players. Having the Messengers on one's resume was a rite of passage in the jazz world, and conveyed immediate bona fides.

Many Messenger alumni went on to become jazz stars in their own right, such as: Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Timmons, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, Chuck Mangione, Keith Jarrett, Joanne Brackeen, Woody Shaw, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison and Mulgrew Miller. A more complete list of alumni can be found on the right column. Some members such as bassist Clarence Seay and then 16-year-old trombonist Gregory Charles Royal are documented to have played in the Jazz Messengers but did not record with the group.

On December 17, 1947, Blakey led a group known as "Art Blakey's Messengers" in his first recording session as a leader, for Blue Note Records. The records were released as 78s at the time and two of the songs were released on the New Sounds 10" LP compilation (BLP 5010). This octet included Kenny Dorham, Howard Bowe, Sahib Shihab, Musa Kaleem, Ernest Thompson, Walter Bishop, Jr., and LaVerne Barker.

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Wikipedia