I'll admit, I do not own very much jazz. What I do own is pretty mainstream, and I enjoy it. I do have a question. One of the discs in my measley collection is Midnight Session by Art Blakey. It absolutely floors me. I'm listening to it as we speak, and it keeps my toes tapping all the way through. My question: Why does this album only get 2.5 stars in the AMG (There is no essay for this particular album)? I'll also admit that this is the only Blakey I own, is the rest of his catalog vastly superior? AMG seems to give him many 4 and 4.5 marks with one 5 star album (Moanin').

That’s a fine question Maximum Jack and I will try to answer it to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I am sure that one of my compadres will be able to better answer you. Sometimes AMG will list all of the albums for an artist, give a rating and then go back and write the essay for the album. They are the best at having somebody’s entire body of work but since they do have so much stuff, it takes them a while to get to everything. I have heard this particular Blakey album and I also enjoy quite a bit. My presumption is that the 2.5 was just a guesstimate off a brief listen and they may or may not get to writing the review for it later. I think that the jazz publication, Downbeat gave it a 3.5 or 4 out 5, so everything is individually subjective.

As for the rest of the catalog, the question on whether or not it is “vastly superior” to the album you have, is a question only you can really answer. My recommendation is that if you like this one, as much as you do, then you should like some of his more well-known, commended albums like Moanin’, any of his A Night at Birdland albums, any of the At the Jazz Corner of the World albums and many more. Jazz is a style of music where artists and their bands were making a ton of music—constantly and continuously—so sometimes you will find hidden gems that are by and by ignored but special to you. Like I said, if you really like it, seek out some more of his work, he was one of the most important Jazz figures in Be-pop and he had many capable musicians join his “Messengers” before and while they were big.

I hope that all this long-winded rambling helped; if you ever need any assistance with any other Jazz stuff, feel free to ask away.

Thanks FKA, I'm definitely going to track down Moanin'.

I think I have some idea of why that album is given a lower rating. For one, allmusic states that their ratings are given in comparison to the artist's body of work as a whole. 2.5 stars doesn't equal "not very good," it just means "the others are better." So I don't think their rating is saying you shouldn't enjoy that album.

So why might the others be better? Art Blakey, like Miles Davis, had a very good eye for talent. He considered it his role to find young, talented players who could be nurtured and grow under his leadership. This was true even into the early 80s, where Wynton and Branford Marsalis had some of their first major gigs in his band. His band on Moanin', for example, includes Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons, and Benny Golson...all of these guys went on to have extended careers and were considered influential greats in their own right. Caravan, a 4.5 star album, includes Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton, Curtis Fuller and Reggie Workman--again, these are all *major* players (esp. Wayne Shorter).

The players on Midnight Session, on the other hand, are not well known, with the exception of Jackie McClean. He would go on to be a more abstract, avant-garde player, and hard bop is not what he was known for. (Simlarly Miles Davis started out as a straight-up bebop player, but nobody thinks of him that way, and his earliest albums are thus not considered so essential...just a comparison point) Spanky DeBrest was a "thumper"--a "working" bass player who is reliable and decent enough but isn't usually put in the limelight and given solos, and thus doesn't get much recognition.

So it makes sense to me that an album like Caravan, which showcases several young, soon-to-be-legendary players at the top of their game, is going to get a better rating than an album with a transitional band of unknown players.

Another consideration is the set list...a lot of the tunes on the higher-rated albums were written *by* the big name players; Wayne Shorter, who's now considered one of the finest jazz composers ever, cut his chops writing songs in the Art Blakey band. Several of them are now considered standard tunes and are still being played to this day ("One By One" is a great one). The tune "Moanin'" is a total classic, written by Timmons and widely played today.

The very name "Midnight Session" suggests that the record was spontaneously and informally recorded on a whim...some guys getting together for a late night jam session and, what the hell, recording it for fun. Jazz is a supremely peer-driven thing, especially back then; the best albums are loved not only by critics and fans but other jazz musicians. And other jazz musicians probably regarded Midnight as a "blowing session" kind of album...just some fun playing, nothing earth-shattering.

So I think historical context has a lot to do with why that album isn't rated higher. Hopefully my long explanation gives you an idea of what that entails. I'm sure Midnight is enjoyable (and it goes without saying that nobody can tell you what to like) but my guess is that if you give Moanin', Caravan or Ugetsu (one of my favorites) a try you'll understand why they're considered better, more important albums.

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