More than any other album in the canon of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, 1958’s Moanin’, which features the great drummer playing alongside trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt. It was the perfect crystallization of the band’s bluesy, soulful sound, and it still stands today as perhaps the most quintessential hard bop recording of all-time.

Blue Note 85 Classic BLUE Vinyl Edition produced by Blue Note Records in 2024. Remastered by Kevin Gray from the original all-analog master tapes at Cohearant Audio. Pressed at Optimal Media GmbH in Germany. Includes ‘Blue Note 85’ OBI Strip