THE Praise Messenger

EVERYBODY DOES THE VOICE. Not just for his characteristic sayings, but for the mundanities. “He’d say, ‘Thank you,’” recalls trombonist Robin Eubanks, putting “Thank you” into the deep, gruff croak that represents Art Blakey—the legendary drummer and bandleader who would have been 100 years old in October. (He died in 1990.)

When everyone from Eubanks to Wayne Shorter to Wynton Marsalis does their Blakey impression, it’s with the deepest respect and affection. Across four decades, Blakey—also known as Buhaina or “Bu” for his Islamic name, Abdullah ibn Buhaina—acted as a teacher, mentor, and father figure for the musicians who passed through his band the Jazz Messengers (jazz’s most famous and sought-after finishing school). To have been a Messenger is a calling card that musicians carry proudly for life.

Blakey was one of the formative drummers of modern jazz. His thunderous cross-rhythms and press rolls are immediately distinctive, his swing bottomless. He was also deeply human: a colorful character whose sayings and doings are as storied among musicians and fans as his musicianship.

All these sides of Blakey, and more, come through when his onetime protégés speak of him. This article is based on the recollections of dozens of Jazz Messengers alumni. (More than half spoke about Blakey in personal interviews; others shared insights and memories at a Jazz at Lincoln Center panel in January, part of the second annual Jazz Congress.) They paint a portrait of the Blakey legacy that stands at his centennial. His students, such as they were, took crucial lessons from Bu as a musician, bandleader, and man that inform not only their careers, but also those of their own protégés.

Musicianship

BILLY HARPER (tenor saxophone, 1967-69): Blakey was quite a—what do you call him?—thunderball.

This man didn’t know how to swing. As we traveled, he sometimes sat in with local groups where the existing drums sounded like kitchenware. But when he sat behind them, they began to speak another language—a language that not only reached the ear, but the deepest grotto of the heart’s core.