Art Blakey - A Short Biography
Art Blakey was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 11th 1919. He was a leading American jazz drummer and band leader and is partly credited with creating the post bop or hard bop era of jazz.
Until the age of 11 Blakey was a self-taught pianist, even playing in clubs. However, at the age of 13, during the gig he was playing, Errol Garner took over from him at piano and Blakey was told to play the drums. This was the start of a long and influential career as a jazz drummer.
As a budding drummer Blakey was tutored by the best in his field – serving as Chick Webb’s valet.
On returning to his home town Blakey formed his own band, teaming up with pianist Mary Lou Williams. From there on he played for and with the best. He spent 3 years touring with Fletcher Henderson, spent a subsequent year in Boston and then joined Billy Eckstine’s band, where he played alongside the greats of jaz, including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk.
Blakey then embarked on a trip to Africa where he converted to the Islamic religion and also became known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina. Whilst there he learnt African drum beats and then incorporated these into his music on his return.
The late 1940s saw Blakey form the first of the Jazz Messengers bands – this one was a 17 piece big band. In 1954 Blakey, along with pianist Horace Silver, formulated the quintet that became known as the Jazz Messengers. The band was one of the longest-running in jazz history and played to a consistently high standard. Blakey wanted to see upcoming talent nurtured by this group and then see members move on to form their own bands and expand their musical experiences. Some talented musicians to form the Jazz Messengers over the years include Clifford Brown, Hank Mobley, Johnny Smith, Lee Morgan and Benny Golsen.
Blakey’s extraordinary thundering drum rolls and powerful beats earned him recognition as a drum soloist and from this point in jazz, other drummers were given greater recognition for their contributions to jazz music. Without Art Blakey, the era of Hard Bop would definitely have not been the same; a musician that drove himself and his colleagues to the limit in the name of jazz.
Art Blakey died on October 16th 1990, after spending more than six decades at his chosen career.
(Published 1st Jan 2012)
