Art Blakey led many dazzling groups under the title of the Jazz Messengers during a 35-year period, but it would be difficult to top his 1960 edition. Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter and Bobby Timmons were not only influential stylists who were filled with youthful energy and musical genius, but each were also top composers.

Blakey pushed his sidemen so hard that they had to become original and powerful forces themselves, or wilt under the pressure. Morgan, Shorter and Timmons each fit into the former category, developing into major stars during their years with Blakey. The four originals by the sidemen (plus "Like Someone In Love') are given definitive treatments on this stirring and hard-swinging set, one of the finest ever recorded by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

Like all Music Matters Jazz releases, this audiophile vinyl reissue is mastered from the original analog tape and pressed on 180g virgin vinyl at RTI in Camarillo, CA. The highest quality gatefold cover features original session photography on the inside.

See more Art Blakey records here.