When Art Blakey turned his attention to traditional tunes and rhythms, he often bemused critics but delighted fans and always inspired his fellow musicians. The success of the Jazz Messengers shook up the modern Jazz scene in the 1950s and 1960s with its fearless swing and fierce attack, was in part due to the leader’s ability to please audiences, often with populist material. The Jazz Messengers formed as a result of a studio date with Pianist and Composer Horace Silver and Trumpeter Kenny Dorham in 1954. Henceforth the Messengers became the brand name for all the subsequent groups led by the Drummer, and their hit albums came to define the Hard Bop style then flourishing on the East Coast. Interestingly Three Blind Mice had been the inspiration for another experimental arrangement when it was re-imagined by the Johnny Dankworth Orchestra for their 1956 hit single Experiments With Mice.
