The Freedom Rider

In 1961, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers returned to Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ to record what would be the last offering by this particular iteration of the band. Lee Morgan would soon leave to begin a brilliant but all-too-brief solo career and, although he and Wayne Shorter would record again together, this was the last outing for them with Blakey's unit. For many more casual fans, the album is deceptively accessible. The band begins with "Tell It Like It Is," some straight-ahead "hard" bop. Wayne Shorter and Morgan engage in some friendly back and forth over an insistent beat by Blakey. After the drum solo from which the album title gets its name, "El Toro" has Shorter dropping torrents of sound. "Pretty Larceny" struts like nobody's business and provides an idea of what's in store for Morgan, the way he feels his way around a solo and the way his phrasing incorporates R n' B sensibilities. "Blue Ching" just swings. Throughout this collection, you are amazed at the sheer musicianship. If you have never heard this, you'd do well to remedy that.