Now's The Time: Art Blakey and the Everyday Pursuit of Brilliance

Thoughts on a new 1961 live discovery

The set begins with a drum solo. It lasts around five minutes and includes the expected elements, high-wattage press rolls and thundering dances on precisely-tuned tom-toms. It’s a statement within itself – here’s Art Blakey affirming the primacy of rhythmic communication, its place within the act of improvisation. There is some drama (hey, it’s a performance after all). But there is also a feeling of pure delight coming from the kit, as Blakey shapes and shares his pulse, his wit, his mastery.

It’s a safe bet that when he stepped onto the stage of Tokyo’s Hibiya Public Hall in January 1961, Blakey was not thinking about how this particular solo – or any aspect of the performance for that matter – would be parsed and dissected in 2021. He might have known that the evening was being recorded, and could then presume that the music might someday be released. But this prospect would not have altered anything Blakey or the members of his Jazz Messengers -- saxophonist Wayne Shorter, trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Bobby Timmons and bassist Jymie Merritt – would do. It was another gig but not just another gig; it happened during the band’s first-ever tour of Japan. And as is audible, the Tokyo hipsters were enthralled with the graceful airborne spirit of Blakey-style swing as it happened in that moment.

First Flight To Tokyo, which became available today, is already going through the jazz media’s Wonkification Machine, which sorts spontaneous creative expression into mysterious rankings and classifications. The machine goes into high gear anytime there’s a vault discovery from a big name, and it’s running true to form right now: The set has been deemed a “Meh” by some outlets and has been hailed by others. It must be said: There are musical examples to bolster each argument within this performance.

Why should anyone outside the circle of hardcore jazz fans care about First Flight To Tokyo? Because it is yet another chance to encounter, in unretouched form, the spontaneous, ever-evolving interplay that separates improvised music from other arts. Think of it this way: While it might be mildly educational to hear tapes of the Philadelphia Orchestra performing the same program in several exotic locales, the general contour of each evening would be largely similar. When groups like the Jazz Messengers perform, the songs on the program can be the same but the performances vary wildly. The narrative changes, the tone shifts; the story inevitably becomes a new one.

That’s the lure of “found” documents like First Flight To Tokyo: They’re freeze-frame moments. They’re about awesomeness and also averageness. They capture colossally gifted soloists doing their work on a single night, reacting to the vibe in the room, its acoustics, the moods of everyone in the group, and the residue of whatever happened the night before. When Shorter takes his turn on the second version of “Now’s The Time,” Blakey sets the table for a nice meal but there’s no telling what will happen when the cooking begins. Shorter could build an intense solo out of frantic motific fragments, or he could bellyflop in flamboyant fashion, or some combination of extremes. Even those who’ve witnessed Shorter combining his ingredients many times before, on classic studio albums and obscure live sessions, will want to hear how he did it on this night. (Spoiler alert: It’s a thrilling solo.)

Another example comes on the Thelonious Monk classic ballad “Round Midnight.” It’s a feature for Morgan, and he begins interpreting the theme in a way that suggests he’s thinking about Miles Davis’ indelible performances of the tune. Ballads like this can sometimes feel a bit rote, with the soloist dishing out practice-tested lines that are known to dazzle; Morgan goes the other way here, crafting a solo that marries a deep technical command of the trumpet with his arresting, highly personal sense of melody.

This energetic set doesn’t demand a wholesale re-evaluation of Blakey during the Jazz Messengers’ peak years – it’s not earthshattering that way. But it provides more proof of how relentless and galvanic this band could be on any given night. It’s just a one-night slice from a busy jazz year -- Blakey made two great studio records with this band in 1961, A Night In Tunisia and Roots and Herbs – but at the same time it’s more than that. When future generations ask why Blakey and the Jazz Messengers mattered, we’ll dutifully list the totemic must-hear studio records and live albums like Live at the Café Bohemia from 1956. Then we’ll cue up something from First Flight and ponder what this set – captured on an ordinary in 1961 and left undisturbed in the vault until 2021 – tells us about the everyday pursuit of brilliance that those classic albums don’t.

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