JAZZ / ALBUM REVIEWS

***** ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS “Three Blind Mice” Vols. 1 & 2; Blue Note

Here is one of the late drumming dynamo’s choicest ensembles, recorded live in New York and at the Renaissance club on the Sunset Strip in 1961 and 1962 respectively. Though none was older than 29, the major members--trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, saxman Wayne Shorter, trombonist Curtis Fuller and pianist Cedar Walton--were remarkably poised and creative jazzmen, both as improvisers and composers-arrangers. On Vol. 1, Walton takes the standard “That Old Feeling” and turns it into a suite, with tempo and mood changes, as well as offering a splendid solo. Hubbard, just 23, knocks out the ballad “Blue Moon” with gusto and verve, while Shorter scorches on his “Children of the Night.” Vol. 2 features lengthy, vivacious readings of such now classics as Walton’s “Mosaic” and Fuller’s “Arabia,” with one first-rate solo after another. Throughout, Blakey infuses the proceedings with his trademark heat and life. This is an example of modern mainstream jazz at its zenith.