Blakey never signed an exclusive contract with any company and was therefore free to record with anybody he chose, frequently. I have great regard for all the albums he made for Blue Note but this, his first for Riverside, was different. It is more relaxed than the Blue Notes and more likely to appeal to a wider audience.
For a start there is the programme – two originals, one by Hubbard and one by Shorter, two ballads, a jazz waltz and the title track, the only high-octane burn-up in the set. It is fast and furious, with wild solos from Shorter and Hubbard, a restless contribution from Fuller and two explosive solos from Blakey. Shorter is visceral here. Blakey takes a long solo towards the end with his cross rhythms flowing impressively and drives the unit relentlessly all through.
The jazz waltz Sweet ’N’ Sour is far more laid back. This Is For Albert is a sturdy piece with Hubbard at his most lyrical and Shorter intense by comparison. Blakey maintained that Albert was Bud Powell’s real first name. Thermo is almost pastoral and unlike previous Messengers charts. Hubbard was slowing down just a little in 1962, as he did on Bill Evans’ Interplay LP, and it leads to some of the warmest, most inventive solos of his career.
The addition of Fuller on trombone changed the Messengers but not as much as Cedar Walton did on piano. Far more varied in his approach than his predecessor, Bobby Timmons, Walton could play in hard-bop mode, in blues mode or as a melodic interpreter of ballads. Check him out on the two ballads on offer here.
With the notable exception of the 1955/56 Messengers with Mobley and Dorham and perhaps even the 1958 edition with Morgan and Golson, the Messengers were always more inventive in a sextet format. This Riverside disc was one of the best examples.
Discography
Caravan; Sweet ’N’ Sour; In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning (18.13) – This Is For Albert; Skylark; Thermo (19.44)
Freddie Hubbard (t); Wayne Shorter (ts); Curtis Fuller (tb); Cedar Walton (p); Reggie Workman (b); Art Blakey (d). NYC, 1962.
Riverside CR00717
