Listening Assignment - Essay Example

ue Note Label recording company and it had a unique characteristic of being comprised of young players such as Bobby Timmons and Lee Morgan who played for the band in their early twenties . The band leader Art was commonly known for his hard hitting style of drumming and together with his band he made a revolution of bebop and later oversaw its transition into hard bop style of jazz (Lesslie 23). They toured many parts of the world such as the Netherlands, Japan, France and Belgium where they enjoyed a large fan base.

In 1958, the band made a memorable live performance in Brussels Belgium where they performed tracks such as “Just By Myself”, “Moaning”, “I Remember Clifford”, “A Night In Tunisia”, “It’s You or No One”, “Whisper Not”, and “NY Theme” (Lesslie 36). This paper will focus more on the performances of the first four listed tracks, giving a vivid description of the performance, the various jazz styles the players incorporate in each of the tracks and also the role of the instruments used in the tracks.

“Just By Myself” was a live jazz performance in 1958 by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers in Olympia Paris. A Benny Golson’s composition, “Just By Myself” was the opening performance of the Olympia concert. The band members are looking sharp with black suits. The five-minute performance starts right on the melody by a powerful drumming by the band’s leader and drummer Arthur Blakey who is rested sitting behind a Gretsch sparkle set. The song’s style is soft jazz and the piano sets the mood for smooth transitions of the bass guitar and the piano.

Lee Morgan is the first soloist, his pitch and tone is spot on for twenty-year old musician. Benny Golson’s who is the second soloist starts with his famous long lines and quickly progresses with short quicker ones. He appears forceful, but rich in content. Bobby Timmons who is the final soloist appears more boppish than usual, but his skill on the keys is exceptionally