Art Blakey

Art Blakey was an influential American jazz drummer and bandleader who became one of the most significant figures in 20th-century jazz, best known as the driving force behind the Jazz Messengers, the quintessential hard bop ensemble that championed the blues and swing elements of jazz when the avant-garde was pushing in different directions. Born in 1919, Blakey received his first musical education through piano lessons and was playing professionally as a seventh grader before switching to drums...Read more