Art Blakey – Moanin’ [Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series, 180g]

Description

Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers turn Moanin’ into a hard-bop benchmark, pairing Blakey’s driving drums with Bobby Timmons’ gospel-rooted piano and a front line led by Lee Morgan and Benny Golson. The six-track program moves between blues feeling, horn themes, ballads, and drummer-led features. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series record is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

“Moanin’” opens with Timmons’ call-and-response piano figure before the horns answer with one of Blue Note’s best-known themes. “Are You Real” moves faster, giving Golson’s writing a hard-bop frame for trumpet, tenor saxophone, and piano. “Along Came Betty” slows the first side with a more lyrical Golson composition, while “The Drum Thunder Suite” places Blakey’s drumming at the center. “Blues March” returns to parade rhythm, and “Come Rain Or Come Shine” closes with a standard shaped by the quintet.

Each player has a defined role: Blakey drives the group, Timmons supplies the title track’s church-blues foundation, Morgan brings bright trumpet lines, and Golson contributes key compositions. Jymie Merritt’s bass keeps the ensemble grounded through the longer pieces and blues material. The Classic Vinyl Series pressing uses standard packaging for the 180g all-analog LP edition.

• Format: Vinyl LP
• Standout tracks: “Moanin’,” “Along Came Betty,” “The Drum Thunder Suite,” “Blues March”
• Pressing details: Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series, 180g vinyl, all-analog mastering, mastered by Kevin Gray, pressed at Optimal
• Genre/style: Hard Bop, Jazz
• UPC: 602507465681

Moanin’ remains one of the clearest entry points into Blue Note hard bop, especially through the title track, “Blues March,” and “Along Came Betty.” The 180g Classic Vinyl Series edition gives the album a strong single-LP presentation for a core jazz collection.

* The Spotify track list may not exactly represent the tracks and audio of this LP edition.

Track List:

Side A:

1. Moanin’
2. Are You Real
3. Along Came Betty

Side B:

1. The Drum Thunder Suite
2. Blues March
3. Come Rain Or Come Shine