Artist page

Art Blakey was an American jazz drummer, composer, and bandleader, born on October 11, 1919, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He passed away on October 16, 1990, in New York City. Blakey was best known as the leader of The Jazz Messengers. Raised in a Seventh Day Adventist family, he learned the piano alongside studying the Bible, mastering both at an early age. In the early 1930s, while performing at the Democratic Club in Pittsburgh, his piano career was abruptly cut short when he was forced to switch to drums to accommodate a pianist, an incident he often recalled as happening under duress from the nightclub's owner. This led to his tutelage under a drummer and bandleader, serving as Webb's valet. In 1937, Blakey formed his own band, backing a pianist. He joined and toured with another group in 1939 for three years, followed by a year at Boston's Tic Toc club. He then worked with several notable musicians and bands, including performances with Eckstine. After Eckstine disbanded his group in 1947, Blakey organized the Seventeen Messengers, a rehearsal band, and recorded with an octet called the Jazz Messengers, marking the beginning of his many groups with that name. In 1948, he traveled to Africa, where he learned about polyrhythmic drumming and was introduced to Islam, adopting the name Abdullah Ibn Buh

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