The Jazz Messengers featuring Art Blakey (1956)

Dustygroove.com:
A killer early album by Art Blakey and his first incarnation of The Messengers -- recorded before Horace Silver left the group, and a rare non-Blue Note outing done for Columbia Records! The ensemble here features Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor, and Doug Watkins on bass -- alongside Silver's piano and Blakey's thundering work on drums -- and the album is virtually a blueprint for the sound of hardbop in years to come -- focused and intense, but still with plenty of room for individual solo expression! Tracks include a classic reading of "Nica's Dream", plus Horace Silver's great "Ecaroh", and Mobley's own "Infra-Rae" and "Hank's Symphony".

Allmusic.com:
This CD reissue brings back the music on the earlier LP titled Art Blakey with the Original Jazz Messengers, plus five other selections (just one of which is an alternate) from the same two sessions that were formerly out on imported sets; "Deciphering the Message" was previously unreleased altogether. These were the last recordings by the Art Blakey-Horace Silver Jazz Messengers before pianist Silver went out on his own and the first edition disbanded. Trumpeter Donald Byrd, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley and bassist Doug Watkins (along with Silver and Blakey) are in excellent form. Silver's "Nica's Dream" is heard here in the original version, and the band is typically hard-swinging throughout the 76-minute-plus program.

Amazon.com reviewer Samuel Chell:
I had collected over 20 sides by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers before recently noticing this 1956 release on Columbia. It's second to none--a recording that captures the then nascent Messengers at their zenith but also sets a standard approached by very few other quintets. Maybe Miles--but one would be hard pressed to find a tighter, fuller, more expressive ensemble together with more lyrical, inspired solos. The presence of Doug Watkins' bass merely clinches the deal.

Donald Byrd has never sounded better to me, demonstrating why this Detroit preacher's kid is said to have caused such a stir when he made his initial appearances. He almost matches the ceaseless invention and flowing lyricism of Hank Mobley, who is simply untouchable on the date. Despite the breathless tempo of Hank's "Infra-Rae," the saxophonist is utterly relaxed and in control. Another Mobley original, "Late Show" (aka "Hank's Other Tune"), features an inspired, authoritative tenor solo that I doubt Hank himself or any other tenor saxophonist has ever topped.

As for the ensemble choruses, listen to the two horns on Silver's "Ecarole," and you'll wonder why Blakey ever expanded to a sextet--or, for that matter, why some listeners miss big bands. The shadings, dynamics, nuanced textures--the expressive colors that are missing on most of the flattened acoustics of the Blue Note recordings--they're all here. This is a "musician's record." After listening to this edition of the group and this recording, I doubt I could force myself to play the "highly funkified," popular but overrated "Moanin'" session again or, for that matter, Silver's formulaic and stiff "Song for My Father" session. Even the Blue Note recording of Horace's lovely "Nica's Dream" pales when compared to the rich and evocative treatment it receives on this earlier version of the tune.

There are twelve rich and varied tunes on the disc--a couple of standards plus a generous supply of vintage Silver and, especially, Mobley contributions. (If you find a CD with more music for the price, I'll refund your money.) The original liner notes by George Avakian are supplemented by detailed, informative descriptions of the music on the record by drummer Kenny Washington.

Tracks:
1. Infra-Rae
2. Nica's Dream
3. It's You Or No One
4. Ecaroh
5. Carol's Interlude
6. The End Of A Love Affair
7. Hank's Symphony
8. Weird-O
9. Ill Wind
10. Late Show
11. Deciphering The Message
12. Carol's Interlude (Alternate Take)