Recorded at The Appleby Jazz Festival, 1999
Clark Tracey - drums
Peter King - alto sax
Alan Barnes - tenor sax
Guy Barker - trumpet
Steve Melling - piano
Dave Green - bass
Essentially, this live set from the Appleby Jazz Festival (in deepest Cumbria) in 1999 under the leadership of drummer Clark Tracey is exactly what it says on the cover, a tribute to arguably the most famous jazz drummer of all time, Art Blakey. Straight hard bop played without artifice - or, dare I say it, subtlety - but delivered with a clear and heartily enthusiastic love of the music. A lively blowing session, with nary a drop in pace throughout or even pause for breath, to which all the musicians contribute equal shares of raucous exuberance convincingly interpreting a selection of Jazz Messengers tunes.
This group take the basic premise of tribute and - literally - run with it, and like his famous pianist father before him, Stan, who launched a similar ongoing project in the 1960s dedicated to the music of Duke Ellington under the titular umbrella of 'We Love You Madly', Clark Tracey has made an evolving act out of this particular niche in the market, which also happens to mirror the policy of Blakey's own Jazz Messengers by introducing new young talent to this tribute band as previous participants move on and up.
Members of this edition, such as Peter King, Alan Barnes and Guy Barker, already established as frontliners at the time of this recording, are currently generally involved in a multitude of projects of their own, but from my understanding it would seem as though older players did join in from time to time when other engagements allowed, so it is a fluid unit with one unambiguous purpose - musical enjoyment!! If you love the spirited Jazz Messengers music of the late 1950s/early 1960s, chances are you'll lap this up!!!
16 сен 2024
