''Africaine'' is a collection of 1959 recordings by
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
artist
Art Blakey
Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s.
Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...
and
The Jazz Messengers. The collection was not released until over 20 years after it was recorded. The album features tenor-saxophonist
Wayne Shorter in his first recording with The Jazz Messengers, trumpeter
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s and a cornerstone of the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label, Morgan came to prominence in his la ...
, pianist
Walter Davis, Jr. and bassist
Jymie Merritt.
Reception
Michael G. Nastos of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
called it, "a recording that shows a band fully able to fuse many exotically attractive elements into a unified whole of creative jazz music ecstasy".
Track listing
#"Africaine" (
Shorter) – 7:57
#"Lester Left Town" (
Shorter) – 8:35
#"Splendid" (
Davis) – 7:46
#"Haina" (
Morgan) – 10:17
#"The Midget" (
Morgan) – 6:00
#"Celine" (
Morgan) – 4:50
Personnel
*
Art Blakey
Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s.
Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...
– drums
*
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s and a cornerstone of the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label, Morgan came to prominence in his la ...
– trumpet
*
Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone
*
Walter Davis, Jr. – piano
*
Jymie Merritt – acoustic bass
*
Dizzy Reece – conga drums (on tracks 1 & 4)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Africaine (Art Blakey Album)
1981 albums
Blue Note Records albums
Art Blakey albums
The Jazz Messengers albums
1980s instrumental albums
Albums produced by Alfred Lion
Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio