Seeing Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers Live

[Late]

Share your stories about seeing/hearing The Jazz Messengers live. What year, what edition?

I heard a 1984 edition of The Messengers:

Terence Blanchard (t)
Donald Harrison (as)
Jean Toussaint (ts)
Mulgrew Miller (p)
Lonnie Plaxico (b)

I can't remember any of the tune titles from that night (and actually had to leave at intermission), but I seem to recall Harrison was having a good night, and was featured among the soloists. Miller did not seem pleased with the piano.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Late

[mjzee]

I saw The Jazz Messengers once.  I wish I could remember the date.  It was at The Village Gate in Manhattan.  It was the band sometime after Wynton left; was Valery Ponomarev in it?  I went because I heard that George Benson would be sitting in, as indeed he did.  I had never been to the Gate before; it had cement walls almost like a cellar, and the acoustics were terrible for jazz.  Blakey was wearing big-ass hearing aids, but was fun to watch.

[jlhoots]

I saw them with Wynton & Branford in the band.

[medjuck]

 

From http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Artists/Blakey/chron.htm

October 1966: Chuck Mangione-t; Frank Mitchell-ts; Chick Corea-p; Juni Booth-b

• - Town Tavern, Toronto, Canada (one week October 1966) [Toronto Star, October 4, 1966] [db 11/17/66 p.53]
•  
• The Town Tavern was a fairly small, narrow, but classy room.  The band seemed very loud there IIRC.  I wasn't as impressed as I had been  when I saw him at a theater in Montreal with this group:     Lee Morgan-t; Wayne Shorter-ts; Curtis Fuller-tb; Cedar Walton-p; Reggie Workman-b Probably spring of 1964.  Reggie Workman knocked me out. Not sure of the details and the gig is not listed in the chronology. In those years I was a bit snobby and snotty about The Jazz Messengers.  I was wrong: they were more distinctive than they seemed at the time. (Does that make sense?) 

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

just saw this on ebay from an ebay collection of eugene landy items (!!)....as we know before he met brian he """""suposedely discovered george benson""""".....well look at this item....

 

OMG IS THIS REAL

 

 

god maybe he actually did know him....

 

[sidewinder]

I saw them two or three times at Ronnie Scotts around 1982/83. One appearance was with Wynton,    Branford and co. The next was with Terrence Blanchard, Donald Harrison and Jean Toussaint. I think Johnny O’Neal might have been in one of those lineups too, Lonnie Plaxico too.  In fact I think O’Neal was with the Wynton lineup and Mulgrew was with the later group. Might have caught an even earlier appearance with Valerie Ponomarev - not sure.

Other than them playing ‘Blues March’ quite a few times, I remember Wynton doing ‘Angel Eyes’.

Both occasions were packed and it was necessary to advance book to get in.

One thing is for sure - Blakey was loud and totally oblivious to the noise !

Edited November 29, 2017 by sidewinder

[Gheorghe]

I saw the Messengers at least 3 times.

The first time was march 1980 at TU in Vienna. The edition was Valerie Ponomarev on tp, Bobby Watson on as, Dave Pierce on ts, James Williams on p, Charles Fambrough on bass.
I was looking forward to that concert so much, since Blakey was my favourite drummer during that time. The first recordings with him on drums I heard on that famous Night at Birdland with Bird,Fats, Bud, and fell in love with his loud and hard driving drumming. Was a bit disappointed when I first had heard a studio recording with Blakey, because in comparation to Birdland 1950 it sounded to soft and to tame to me. I was and still am crazy about really powerful drummers.

That first live concert had 3 of the musicians from the Concord LP "At this Korner" from 1977 (Ponomarev, Watson, Williams) and a Philips LP "Night in Tunisa" from 1979.

I don´t remember all the tunes they played, but of course they did Blues March and Moanin´. All kids in town was hummin "Moanin´" when I was young. Even non jazzers loved it.

 

The second time was 1983 at Wiesen Jazz Festival . I think Blanchard, Donald Harrison, Toussaint, ..... but not Mulgrew Miller on p, the piano player was a nice cat I think his name was "O´Neall" . On bass I think was Lonnie Plaxico. I remember there was even some "free" passages in the solos. And there was a ballad medley, I don´t know what ballad each of them played, but O´Neall played some "Summertime" and all the girls screamed...........,   

and the last tune was a really fast "Wee" and up on stage came .....DIZ !!!!!. He was scheduled for the next day but was allready in town and looked really like a turist, with a photoapparat around his neck, and he scatted Wee. He didn´t have his tp or was not allowed to play it due to contractual reasons, but boy ! It was an occasion to see Bu and Diz together on stage.

 

The last time was 1988 or 1989 at "Metropole" in Viena. A few months earlier he had chancelled a gig at "Fritz", because his little dog was sick I think, that was the reason .

At Metropole he had a trumpet player, a trombonist, and the then totally unknown piano player Benny Green (not to be confounded with the trombonist). But you see, it´s easy for me to remember tunes and personnel until around the mid 80´s and after that though I saw a lot, it´s much harder to remember it.

One thing I remember from the last gig. I was in the front row and near to Bu just to see and hear what he´s doin. And I was impressed how he plays different for trumpet, sax, trombone, it´s just wonderful how he makes his drums sound like brass or like wood, that´s the greatest thing i remember about Bu.

[sidewinder]

Gheorge - you have jogged my memory. Certainly remember seeing Watson, Pierce and Famborough with Blakey so must have caught them in 1980 at Scotts too. Yes, James Williams definitely on piano so most likely the same European tour. It was around the time that Northsea Big Band album came out, on Timeless I think.

So - 3 times for me.

Edited November 29, 2017 by sidewinder

[BFrank]

I saw him at least 5 times, four of those at the Keystone Korner. Pretty sure the first 3 (1977, 78, 79) were with Valeri Ponomarev, Bobby Watson, David Schnitter, James Williams and Dennis Irwin. A very underrated edition of the band, IMO.

12/30/79 I saw this show:

1/13/1982 with this lineup: Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Bill Pierce, Donald Brown, Charles Fambrough

[king ubu]

Nice reading - keep it comin'!

@chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez which Brian are you talking of the one from "Life of ..."? 

[kh1958]

My only opportunity was a two night engagement at the Caravan of Dreams in Fort Worth, May 10-11, 1985. Naturally I went both nights and heard four sets. Terence Blanchard was the musical director, with Mulgrew Miller, Lonnie Plaxico, Donald Harrison, and Jean Toussaint. On Saturday night, Marchel Ivery joined the group towards the end of the second set.

Two weeks before this, I heard Sphere at the Caravan, and then a couple of weeks afterwards, Horace Silver. About the same time, also Miles Davis at a theater in Dallas.

Edited November 29, 2017 by kh1958

[Milestones]

I saw Blakey and Messengers at what was called the Kool Jazz Festival (near Cleveland) in the summer of 1984.  It was a good show, and actually Dizzy was there too (I believe he was scheduled) and played on a few numbers.  It was good stuff, and yet not completely memorable.  I was pretty new to jazz at the time, and I didn't have a lot of Blakey in my collection.

The personnel was probably the same as what Late listed.

But the festival show overall was something else.  It opened with Miles, who had Bill Evans (sax) and John Scofield in the band; then Gerry Mulligan; then Blakey; then finished with Herbie H./Ron C./Tony W. with the Marsalis brothers on the front line.

 

Edited November 29, 2017 by Milestones

[brownie]

I was lucky. Spent three evenings at the Club Saint-Germain when they appeared thère in December 1957. The Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons JM  For ever grateful to Marcel Romano for letting me enter the club for free.

Saw the Messengers with Wayne Shorter and Walter Davis à couple  of years later at the Olympia. But missed the Hubbard, Fuller, Shorter unit....

[jazzscriveyn]

1987 Chicago Jazz Festival (Open Air)

What I remember most was the noise made by the "audience" in the park. Most people had brought picnics and were interested in their own talk rather than the music.

It was also the night when the Globe Unity Orchstra played their last gig (except for a reunion 2002 in Aachen/Germany*). I remember enjoying that one very much.

____
*to the best of my knowledge

[Peter Friedman]

I saw Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers at least twice. Both times when I was living in Detroit.

The first time was with Lee Morgan, Benny Golson and Bobby Timmons. Don't recall the date, but had to have been in the late 1950's at a Jazz Concert.

The second time I saw them live was at a club in Detroit called The Minor Key. It had to have been in 1961 or 1962. The musicians were Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton & Jymie Merritt.

The Minor Key session stands out because it was where I took a young woman on our first date. I married that woman!

 

[Larry Kart]

Several  times, several different line-ups. Working backwards: Wynton-Branford, Blanchard-Harrison, and before then it all begins to blend together. For some reason, I remember one with Charles Fambrough on bass but don't recall the front line -- it might have been Blanchard-Harrison? Think I caught the lineup with Dave Schnitter in it, don't recall the trumpeter -- Valery Pomonorev? Don't recall catching the classic lineups -- Morgan-Golson, Morgan-Shorter, Hubbard-Fuller-Shorter, Morgan-Fuller-Shorter.

Looking at a JM chronology, I see lots of Chicago gigs that I could have gone to in the '60s. Can't believe that I missed all of them -- maybe I didn't, but I don't remember.

[BillF]

April 1961 at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester with Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons and Jymie Merritt.

Also in Manchester in the 1980s with a trumpet, alto, tenor front line. Don't recall the musicians' identities.

Edited November 29, 2017 by BillF

[Late]

Interesting to see how many different editions of The Messengers that members here saw live — especially the fabled groups from the 50's and 60's! Did anyone here see the group with Chuck Mangione and Keith Jarrett? (I don't know if those two toured with the group, actually.) Or the group with Olu Dara and Carter Jefferson?

Check out this 1980 edition of the band, with both the Marsalis brothers and the Eubanks brothers. I dig Branford's solo here. He was 20, and Wynton was 19.

If I recall correctly, wasn't there a short-lived UK edition of the band, circa 1988? With Courtney Pine? (You can tell I haven't looked at any online chronologies yet.)

Edited November 29, 2017 by Late

[sidewinder]

Yes - there was a UK lineup augmenting the basic Messengers of the time, in fact I remember seeing a documentary film featuring that lineup with Blakey tutoring them. From memory, flautist Philip Bent, bassist Gary Crosby and vibist Orphy Robinson were present.

Edited November 29, 2017 by sidewinder

[felser]

Saw them twice:

at the Wilmington Opera House in the mid-late 80's - Philip Harper, Benny Green (his first gig with them), I think Jean Toussaint, don't remember the others.

at Penn's Landing shortly before Blakey passed - Brian Lynch, Geoff Keezer, Steve Davis, Dale Barlow and Javon Jackson both on tenor, don't remember the bass player.

Very good both times  Also saw the Harper Brothers band at Penn's Landing around the same time.  Javon Jackson, Nedra Wheeler, Kevin Hays.  Excellent concert.  Do need to say I found Jackson lacking both times, though he has always sounded OK to me on record, so he may have just had bad nights when I saw him.

[optatio]

I saw Art Blakey & The Jazzmessengers live June 7, 1987 (Pentecost) at Jazztime Hildesheim (Germany). Line-up: Art Blakey (dr), Wallace Roney (tp), Julian Priester (tb), Javon Jackson (ts), Benny Green (p), Peter Washington (b). I remember that Art Blakey was visibly impressed by Benny Green's playing. 

[king ubu]

7 hours ago, jazzscriveyn said:

It was also the night when the Globe Unity Orchstra played their last gig (except for a reunion 2002 in Aachen/Germany*). I remember enjoying that one very much.

____
*to the best of my knowledge

They played a concert at Jazzfest Berlin 2016 ...

Off topic, sorry.

[Gheorghe]

23 hours ago, BFrank said:

I saw him at least 5 times, four of those at the Keystone Korner. Pretty sure the first 3 (1977, 78, 79) were with Valeri Ponomarev, Bobby Watson, David Schnitter, James Williams and Dennis Irwin. A very underrated edition of the band, IMO.

 

Hello BFrank !

In the whole context of his bands, maybe it´s true that this edition was more underrated, but if I remember right, this was the band which brought Blakey back to larger audiences and tours overseas.
I remember the happy young faces hearing for the first time that music. And I think it was at Moers in Germany, and the first records for the Timeless Label were very well announced in the Jazz Podium , the magazine we were reading.

And as you mentioned Keystone Korner, that´s the point. When I was browsing thru the records to find anything I could with  Blakey , and you can imagine how scarce was the market for acoustic jazz in the late 70´s , there was two records, the 1957 RCA "Plays Lerner and Loewe", and the 1977 "In this Korner".

Needless to say I was much more impressed with the 1977 stuff, and same thing about the other kids around me. It sounded more "hip".

And as we were kids and didn´t know much more musicians, those guys were our heros:  The fantastic trumpet of  Ponomarev from USSR , the then still young and unknown but fiercy Bobby Watson, the steady and strong tenor of Dave Schnitter, the Mr. Wonderful himself James Williams on piano, and the solid Irwing on bass.

I remember the linernotes was very much about James Williams and that during those nights at the Korner  nobody less than RED GARLAND was in the house and praised the young Williams. All us little cats wanted to check out some gimmicks Williams was doing, to become better piano players......

I remember we wore that record out, all kids was listening to it, even the girls said yeah if that´s jazz, it´s not bad......

Edited November 30, 2017 by Gheorghe

[JohnS]

I recall seeing the Messengers twice (possibly a third time that's gone from my memory).  

The first I remember was the version with Lee Morgan, John Gilmore and John Hicks.  This London concert was issued on a bootleg lp/cd.  The Jimmy Giuffre Trio was on the same bill.  I saw a later version with, I think, Bobby Watson and Bill Pierce, can't remember who else.  I remember  being pretty disappointed as they just seemed to be going through the motions.

[sidewinder]

8 hours ago, JohnS said:

I recall seeing the Messengers twice (possibly a third time that's gone from my memory).  

The first I remember was the version with Lee Morgan, John Gilmore and John Hicks.  This London concert was issued on a bootleg lp/cd.  The Jimmy Giuffre Trio was on the same bill. 

1965... when that ‘Jazz 625’ was recorded?