I’m pretty sure that I’ve listened to Art Blakey more than any other artist this past year. It started with his album Caravan – I was captivated not only by his raw, unadulterated drumming but also by the talented band members – on that particular album he played with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, both of whom moved on to very successful solo careers.

The second album that I picked up was Free For All.  I was staying up late to finish up some work, and decided to put it on in the background. The opening track captivated me to the point where I was unable to concentrate on anything else, so I just gave up and listened. There are so many nuances to this recording that I love – you can hear the bandmates cheering on Wayne Shorter on his ruthless opening solo, and Blakey’s sheer emotion coming out in groans during his drum solo at the end. Have a listen:

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After my third or fourth album, it began to occur to me that the Jazz Messengers (which Blakey co-founded with Horace Silver) had yielded an extremely impressive alumni list. Art Blakey’s ability to surround himself with some of the youngest and brightest up and comers in jazz began to intrigue me. On “A Night at the Birdland” he remarked:

I’m gonna stay with the youngsters. When these get too old I’ll get some younger ones. Keeps the mind active.

I’ve  always wondered what was it about him that allowed him to spot and cultivate talent so consistently.  The only other band leader that comes to mind is Miles Davis – but even so, the sheer amount of musicians that Blakey brought up far outshadows any other group bar none.  Some artists that I’ve discovered and have come to love through their involvement with the Jazz Messengers include Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Garrett, Lou Donaldson, Branford & Wynton Marsalis, Lee Morgan, Reggie Workman, and of course Wayne Shorter (my second favorite saxophonist of all time).

Below is a video that shows Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in their prime, performing live on a Japanese television show in 1961. This particular iteration of the Jazz Messengers featured Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons on the keys and Jymie Merritt on upright bass. Enjoy.

Lily and I will be spending the next 10 days in the beautiful city of Paris visiting family, eating, and shopping. It sure would be nice to run into something like this while we’re here:

Sade came on the radio while Johan, Chris and I were driving around LA. After first discussing our favorite tracks, I mentioned this being her best video in my opinion. The video for “Never As Good As the First Time” is also good but makes less sense. Sade on a horse across a desert, I get it. Kids practicing bullfighting and random guys drinking in a saloon, unclear. I couldn’t quite follow the story she was trying to communicate – if you have any insight that would be great.

Last week I had the opportunity to hang out with some friends of mine from the pacific Northwest; to me they are Milton and Bryan, but to hip hop aficionados they are Ohmega Watts and Braille. Together with their partner in crime Tyson (aka Othello), they form a hip hop trio called Lightheaded. I first met them in early 2004 when they were touring through Chicago. At the time I was just starting to push a nascent t-shirt brand called 3sixteen, and it was via our shared passion for creativity in the arts that our friendship was born. Here we are, five years later… Othello is married with a baby boy, Ohmega has two successful solo albums out and a budding graphic design career, and Braille has a beautiful daughter. We’re all in different life stages and have gone through much; though we aren’t able to keep in touch as much as we did in the past, it’s always a pleasure to reconnect in person and see how we’ve all grown and what we’ve learned since the last time we met.

Braille is currently touring in support of an album he recorded with S-1 of Strange Fruit Project called Cloud Nineteen. They’ve gone to bars, concert venues, youth groups, after school programs, juvenile detention centers, shelters and more this past year to do shows and give albums away. Yes, the album is available for purchase in stores and via iTunes, but their goal has been to give away 30,000 copies free of charge. So far they’ve already distributed 9,000 and are receiving loans and gifts to print the remainder of the cd’s they need to reach their goal. When asked why they’ve decided to do this, Braille said that their heart for the project was to make positive, uplifting music available to anyone they met without cost being a preventative issue.

Over these past several years, I’ve been slowly discovering what it means to be a Christian in a creative industry. I’ve been encouraged by several individuals along the way who I really respect  – people who are sure of their faith and are not ashamed of it, and express it in the best way they can with the talents they’ve been given. Braille (and the Lightheaded crew) is definitely one of those people. We’ve had opportunities to talk about the role our faith plays in what we do, and I am always encouraged by how focused he is on how his art can edify others. That, and his relentless desire to perfect his craft and give it more impact. It’s fine to say that you want your beliefs to affect others through your art, but it means a lot more when you’re really good at what you do.