Formed in 1955 as The Jazz Messengers, the iconic jazz group was led by drummer
Art Blakey (born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 11, 1919), who remained
the only constant through all of its line-up changes. A depression era orphan
who was sent down the coal mines as a child, Art Blakey started out playing
piano as a teenager in Pittsburgh nightclubs until, as legend has it, a local
gangster announced one night with a gun pointed in his direction, "Art, you on
drums tonight". He went on to master a hugely influential percussive and
improvisational style and The Jazz Messeng...