Ugetsu: Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers at Birdland

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Captured at the legendary New York venue, this album introduces a powerhouse sextet iteration of the long-running ensemble, newly expanded by the addition of trombonist Curtis Fuller. Driven by the leader's thunderous, fiercely swinging polyrhythms, the group attacks sophisticated original compositions by Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter with breathtaking muscularity. It is universally regarded as a defining pinnacle of the robust, aggressive hard bop style.