ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS - SALOU, Michel (photo.).

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Group of eight original carbon prints of the band in concert. An outstanding series of "in the moment" images showing one of the great Messengers lineups, captured in Paris, probably at the Olympia, in 1960. The lineup comprises Blakey (drums), Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Lee Morgan (trumpet), Bobby Timmons (piano), and Jymie Merrit (bass).Blakey (1919-1920) was a master percussionist, and the Jazz Messengers, which he led for over 30 years, was "the most famous academy in jazz" (Cook & Morton). Wayne Shorter was relatively new to the band, and his playing lent a "dark, corrosive edge" to the front line, while on ballads his tone became "softly beseeching". Lee Morgan, "arguably the defining figure of hard bop" had been with Blakey since 1958.The photographer, Michel Salou, worked as a music executive, producing albums by, among others, Sun Ra (Live in Paris: At the "Gibus", 1973), the Mal Waldron Trio (Ursula, 1978), and the French pianists George Arvanitas and Rene Urtreger. He also appears in the annals of the Art Ensemble of Chicago as their "first booking agent... who helped them secure concert dates across France and elsewhere in Europe" (Steinbeck, p. 130). His excellent work as a lensman appears to have gone virtually unnoticed, except that the National Portrait Gallery holds a single print of Ray Charles in performance.

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