Art Blakey experts please ... ?

Free For All (1964)
A little harder hitting than some of the earlier recordings mentioned here. Blakey's on fire and he pushes Freddie and Wayne to the edge of hard bop and beyond while keeping it deep in the groove.
Highly recommended.

I claim to be an Art Blakey expert. Since I have many LP's and CD's, I won't list them all; I would rather give others the pleasure.

Not only is Blakey "King of the drums", he is also the king of "Hard bop". There are more famous musicians who played with his "Jazz Messengers" than any other group, including the Miles Davis groups.

"Moanin" is a classic among classics. "Along Came Betty", ranks with the title tune for me. There could be more than one reason for that. I was a teenager who worshipped from afar, a very beautiful old lady of 23 named "Betty". Every time I put a quarter in the jukebox and punched that tune, a vision of "Betty" floated before me.

I have never gone wrong selecting any Blakey album, and I can think of no other artist I can say that about. I'm sure people new to Blakey will enjoy him as much as I have.

Al2, I found my original LP of S&S for 50 cents used many years ago. I hope you are also searching out original LP's on the cheap. There are many great deals/finds out there. Audiophile 45 Reissue$ are not always necessary. Either way, enjoy:)

45's are the ultimate. Nothing can capture "nuance" like a 45; for those who can afford them, that's the way to go. LP's are close, but this ain't horseshoes.

If you like Art with Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter I'd also suggest "Paris Jam Session" and "Like Someone in Love", the latter has Bobby Timmons on piano. Great stuff!