JAZZ : ART BLAKEY “Chippin’ In” <i> Timeless</i> “One for All” <i> A & M</i> * * * *

Made in February and April, with his last band, these were Blakey’s final albums. The leader’s personality and the group’s character remained almost unchanged through the decades. In both albums there is one tune from the old book (by Wayne Shorter or Gigi Gryce) along with new works or arrangements by such gifted sidemen as the 19-year-old pianist Geoff Keezer, trumpeter Brian Lynch (a splendid writer and soloist), and saxophonists Dale Barlow (from Australia) and Javon Jackson. There is no qualitative difference here; both CDs remind us of the irreplaceable character of our loss, and of the unique spirit Blakey was able to generate.