Credits:

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Description:

A historic performance that revolutionized Japanese jazz culture. Miraculously unearthed sound recordings of the first concert in Japan, recorded for a documentary film! This is a previously unreleased live album of the first Japan tour in 1961 by the famous jazz band "Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers" led by Art Blakey, one of the most famous drummers of modern jazz. The strongest lineup, featuring Lee Morgan (tp) and Wayne Shorter (ts), performed a white-hot stage full of representative repertoire such as "Mornin'" and "Blues March". This was the first full-fledged modern jazz group to perform in Japan, and it was a memorable event in the history of Japanese music, triggering an unprecedented jazz boom throughout the country. Their music was so popular among the general public at the time that there is still an episode of a delivery boy at a soba noodle shop whistling "Mornin" as he pedaled his bicycle, contributing greatly to the development of Japanese jazz culture that has continued to the present day.The soundtrack for this album was originally recorded for the documentary film "Black Sacrifice," which followed the band on their tour of Japan, but the film was cancelled due to rights issues and the film was destroyed, and the whereabouts of the master tapes were unknown for many years. After several years of research, the tapes were discovered in 2017 among the film crew's belongings, and are now being released worldwide by Blue Note Records in the U.S.! ＜Art Blakey(ds), Lee Morgan(tp), Wayne Shorter(ts), Bobby Timmons(p), Jimmy Merritt(b)★Recorded live at Hibiya Public Hall, Tokyo, January 14, 1961

Tracklisting:

1.Now's the Time
2.Blues March
3.The Theme