The Jazz Messengers

With Roots & Herbs, Art Blakey leads a Jazz Messengers unit that includes Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Bobby Timmons on piano, and Jymie Merritt on bass, a line‑up that can pivot from crisp unisons to eruptive solos in a heartbeat. The tunes are full of rhythmic feints and harmonic twists, yet the band makes it all sound effortless. Blakey’s drumming is simultaneously a grid and a storm: he sets up hits, detonates climaxes, and constantly nudges the music into higher gear. Drawing on African and Afro‑Caribbean currents while staying grounded in hard‑bop swing, *Roots & Herbs* is the sound of Blakey and company extending their roots and letting them crack the pavement just a little further.