‘Strasbourg 82’ shows that Art Blakey never stopped pushing the envelope : NPR

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. Long before jazz studies were a staple in many college curricula, drummer Art Blakey ran one of the most prestigious and demanding universities of jazz – his band. Alumni of his groups, from Wayne Shorter in the ’50s to Wynton Marsalis in the ’80s, could fill the programs for a week’s worth of all-star concerts. Blakey’s 1982 band, which formed shortly after both Wynton and his brother Branford Marsalis left, is less celebrated, but a newly discovered concert recording makes a case for its greatness. That live recording has been released as an album titled “Strasbourg 82.” Jazz critic Martin Johnson says you can hear the maturation of the players and the growth of the band.

(SOUNDBITE OF ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS’ “LITTLE MAN”)

MARTIN JOHNSON, BYLINE: There have been so many extraordinary iterations of Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers that some remarkable additions have tended to get overlooked. I think that’s the case with the 1982 band. Yet, like most Blakey bands, it featured future stars – in this case, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who has lately found renown as an opera composer, and alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, who’s become an elder statesman of traditional New Orleans music. The band featured some stellar players whose renown never transcended jazz aficionado circles, like pianist Johnny O’Neal, heard there on the opening track. And here’s a bit of his solo.

(SOUNDBITE OF ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS’ “LITTLE MAN”)

JOHNSON: By the early ’80s, the Messengers had been an institution for decades, and the new players could create their sound from the lineage of their instrument. Here, on the Benny Golson classic “Along Came Betty,” we can hear Blanchard echoing legendary predecessors Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan, with just a hint of ’70s Blakey stalwart Woody Shaw. And we can hear the band increase the urgency of the tune. Originally a springtime walk in the park, it’s now a chilly rush-hour commute home.

(SOUNDBITE OF ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS’ “ALONG CAME BETTY”)

JOHNSON: Jazz was changing in the early 80s, and this band reflected some of the changes. The Messengers were still a paragon of soulful, hart-popping jazz, but they were looking in new directions, and they found it with “Eighty-One,” (ph) a staple of Miles Davis’ Second Quintet. It’s looser and more laid back, but a good fit for tenor saxophone Billy Pierce, who likely grew up loving those Davis bands.

(SOUNDBITE OF ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS’ “EIGHT ONE”)

JOHNSON: I heard this particular band a lot. I graduated college in 1982, and with rent for my Manhattan apartment, a mere $140, I had time to immerse myself in the jazz scene. Blakey was everywhere – downtown jazz clubs, uptown hangouts, outdoor shows. Today’s virtuosos must marvel at the itinerary. It meant that the band could shadow box on Blakey warhorses like “Blues March” and “Moanin'” and fight the past to a draw. Those tunes were crowd pleasers, but the real fun was in the newer wrinkles. “Strasbourg 82” shows that the Blakey bands never stopped pushing the envelope.

(SOUNDBITE OF ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS’ “BLUES MARCH”)

GROSS: Martin Johnson writes for The Wall Street Journal and DownBeat. He reviewed “Strasbourg 82,” featuring a newly discovered 1982 live recording by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers.

Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, our guest will be actor Delroy Lindo. He’s earned his first Oscar nomination after 50 years in film and theater for his role as a blues musician in Ryan Coogler’s film “Sinners.” I hope you’ll join us. To keep up with what’s on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram – @nprfreshair. FRESH AIR’s executive producer is Sam Briger. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Nyakundi, Anna Bauman, and Nico Gonzalez-Wisler. Our digital producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. Our co-host is Tonya Mosley. I’m Terry Gross.

(SOUNDBITE OF ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS’ “DUCK SOUP”)

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