Genre: Hard Bop
Rating: Jazz Masterpiece / World Treasure
Release Date: October, 1966
Recorded in ‘64 at the Van Gelder Studio this was Blakey’s last recording on Blue Note. Blakey’s run on Blue Note includes some of the most important music ever recorded and if you’re new to his music the album Moanin’ is a common starting place and for very good reason.
But back to the record I’m writing about: Indestructible, it’s a delicious pure to the bone jazz record with an incredible all-star cast of performers known as the Jazz Messengers. The band leader, Art Blakey, who passed away in 1990, remains, in my opinion, one of the top five greatest drummers of all time. Lee Morgan, on trumpet, was murdered by his wife in 1972. Despite his early passing he had a prolific career highlighted with playing on Blue Train, a John Coltrane classic, while still a teenager. Morgan wrote the track ‘Calling Miss Khadija’ on Industructable. Curtis Fuller played trombone on and fortunately lived 88 years and passed on in a nursing home in 2020. The Washington Post reported that the family did not cite a cause of death. He was certainly one of many jazz treasures we lost during that dreadful year. Fuller had an absolutely incredible career as a musician and can be heard on dozens of fantastic records. He composed the tracks ‘The Egyptian’ and ‘Sortie’ on our record of focus. The legendary and still living Wayne Shorter played tenor saxophone. If you’re new to jazz you should know it’s pretty much impossible to overstate his importance. He composed ‘Mr. Jin’. Cedar Walton, who passed in 2013, composed ‘When Love is New’. He had a long and prolific career. And finally the incredible Reggie Workman, plays bass. He’s still kicking at 83. His resume is one of the finest in all the history of jazz.
Obviously, this record is stacked with talent. Everyone is in great form. It’s a fantastic record that has stood the test of time with ease and is beyond criticism.
Warmth Highest 