Art Blakey's greatest legacy, aside from the numerous fantastic sessions and years of brilliant drumming, was his nurturing of embryonic talent. Every
Messengers unit from his inaugural crew until the end contained skilled but inexperienced musicians whom
Blakey helped turn into mature veterans. This early '80s edition included trumpeter
Wynton Marsalis, a long way from his current status, plus alto saxophonist
Bobby Watson, tenor stylist
Bill Pierce, pianist
James Williams, and bassist
Charles Fambrough. All are now highly respected bandleaders and recording artists, but on this four-cut set they were Jazz Messengers, with
Blakey's rumbling, bursting licks and rhythms to keep them moving. While there are times when the three-horn frontline does not sound completely together during ensemble sections, they mesh by the song's end.