The Jazz Messengers

The Jazz Messengers were an American jazz group formed in the mid-1950s by drummer Art Blakey and pianist Horace Silver. The band is closely tied to hard bop, and Blakey led it for more than thirty-five years, until his death in 1990. Over that time it worked as a school for young players, many of whom went on to lead groups of their own. Silver led the first Blue Note sessions under the name in 1954 and 1955, with Blakey, Hank Mobley, Kenny Dorham and Doug Watkins. Silver left in 1956 and Blakey kept the band, later billed as Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.