TRANSCRIPT:
Hi, I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Art Blakey was an incredible drummer and bandleader who transformed the jazz scene. He burst onto the scene in the 1940s and collaborated with legends like Fletcher Henderson, Billy Eckstine, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie.
In the mid-1950s, he joined forces with Horace Silver to form the Jazz Messengers, a band he passionately led for 35 years. Blakey inspired and mentored future jazz greats like Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, and Wynton Marsalis throughout this journey, leaving behind a rich legacy.
His vibrant drumming style beautifully fused gospel and blues, capturing the spirit of jazz.
Blakey’s influence and mentorship indeed reshaped the genre for generations to come!
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible in part by Layman Poupard Publishers, producers of the Literary Criticism Series and the Dictionary of Literary Biography.