{"id":7985,"date":"2021-09-15T14:29:34","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T14:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bluenote.com\/?p=7985"},"modified":"2023-03-08T13:05:45","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T13:05:45","slug":"art-blakey-the-jazz-messengers-first-flight-to-tokyo-the-lost-1961-recordings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluenote.com\/art-blakey-the-jazz-messengers-first-flight-to-tokyo-the-lost-1961-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"ART BLAKEY &#038; THE JAZZ MESSENGERS &#8220;FIRST FLIGHT TO TOKYO: THE LOST 1961 RECORDINGS&#8221; OUT DEC. 10"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On December 10, Blue Note Records will release <a href=\"https:\/\/artblakey.lnk.to\/FirstFlightToTokyo-Lost1961Recordings\"><strong><em>First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a thrilling previously unreleased live recording of <strong>Art Blakey &amp; The Jazz Messengers<\/strong> captured at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo on January 14, 1961 during the band\u2019s first-ever tour of Japan. The Jazz Messengers were among the first modern jazz groups to tour the country, and adoring Japanese audiences were enthralled by one of the band\u2019s all-time great line-ups featuring the legendary drummer with <strong>Lee Morgan<\/strong> on trumpet, <strong>Wayne Shorter<\/strong> on tenor saxophone, <strong>Bobby Timmons<\/strong> on piano, and <strong>Jymie Merritt<\/strong> on bass. The concert featured soaring performances of well-known jazz staples including Charlie Parker\u2019s \u201cNow\u2019s the Time,\u201d Thelonious Monk\u2019s \u201c\u2019Round About Midnight,\u201d and Jazz Messenger hits including \u201cBlues March,\u201d \u201cDat Dere,\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ArtBlakey.lnk.to\/Moanin-Live\"><strong>Moanin\u2019<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d which is available to stream or download today.<\/p>\n<p><em>First Flight to Tokyo<\/em> was co-produced by <strong>Zev Feldman<\/strong> and <strong>David Weiss<\/strong> and will be released in deluxe 2-LP vinyl and 2-CD editions, both of which come with elaborate booklets featuring rare photos by Japanese photographers <strong>Shunji Okura<\/strong> and <strong>Hozumi Nakadaira<\/strong>; an historical essay by acclaimed jazz critic <strong>Bob Blumenthal<\/strong>; plus new interviews with <strong>Wayne Shorter<\/strong> in conversation with Blue Note president <strong>Don Was<\/strong>, celebrated saxophonist <strong>Lou Donaldson<\/strong>, Japanese jazz star <strong>Sadao Watanabe<\/strong>, renowned Japanese music critic <strong>Reiko Yukawa<\/strong>, Blakey\u2019s son <strong>Takashi Blakey<\/strong>, and a trio of drum greats: <strong>Louis Hayes<\/strong>, <strong>Billy Hart<\/strong> and <strong>Cindy Blackman Santana<\/strong>. Audio was newly transferred from the original \u00bc\u201d tape reels, and the vinyl edition was mastered by <strong>Bernie Grundman<\/strong> and pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI).<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Art Blakey &amp; The Jazz Messengers \u2013 \u201cFirst Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings\u201d (Album Trailer)\" width=\"1100\" height=\"619\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ifM5mfL2RVI?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/www.bluenote.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe performances were captured at the end of a tour that resulted after Blakey was crowned in a Japanese magazine poll as the American musician that the country\u2019s jazz fans were most eager to experience in person,\u201d writes Blumenthal in the liner notes. \u201cOver the first two weeks of January 1961 the Messengers performed in several major Japanese cities and were received as artistic heroes wherever they appeared. This outpouring by the Japanese public, plus the concert and broadcast settings in which the band was presented, were a far cry from the treatment and working conditions commonplace in the USA and made a great impact on Blakey, who responded with a keen appreciation of his newfound role as international representative of his art form. If the Blakey\/[Horace] Silver partnership had established the Jazz Messengers style, and the tour [Benny] Golson\u2019s edition undertook at the end of 1958 introduced the band to European audiences, then this first visit to Japan made the Messengers a worldwide phenomenon and cemented what would prove to be its most loyal fan base.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Wayne Shorter<\/u><\/strong><u>, saxophonist<\/u><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<em>I was amazed at the reception when we finished, not just the whole concert, but each thing we played. Every time we went on, we knew we were being appreciated in ways we never had been in America.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Don Was<\/u><\/strong><u>, President, Blue Note Records<\/u><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>Releasing this recording is a proud moment for all of us. It captures one of the most legendary lineups of Art Blakey &amp; The Jazz Messengers in their full glory as they spread the message across the planet.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Zev Feldman<\/u><\/strong><u>, producer<\/u><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>My heart leapt from my chest when I heard that these previously unknown tapes of Art Blakey performances from his first Japanese tour existed.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The track listing for <em>First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings<\/em> is as follows:<\/p>\n<p><u>Side 1\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Now&#8217;s the Time<\/strong> (22:34)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><u>Side 2<\/u><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Moanin&#8217;<\/strong> (13:33)<\/li>\n<li><strong> Blues March<\/strong> (11:45)<\/li>\n<li><strong> The Theme<\/strong> (00:33)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><u>Side 3<\/u><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Dat Dere<\/strong> (12:14)<\/li>\n<li><strong> &#8216;Round About Midnight<\/strong> (13:29)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><u>Side 4<\/u><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Now&#8217;s the Time &#8211; Version 2<\/strong> (17:15)<\/li>\n<li><strong> A Night in Tunisia <\/strong>(11:12)<\/li>\n<li><strong> The Theme &#8211; Version 2<\/strong> (00:30)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Moanin&#039; (Live at Hibiya Public Hall, Tokyo, Japan 1\/14\/61)\" width=\"1100\" height=\"619\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CidPZqDqSE4?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/www.bluenote.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On December 10, Blue Note Records will release First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings, a thrilling previously unreleased live recording of Art Blakey &amp; The Jazz Messengers captured at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo on January 14, 1961 during the band\u2019s first-ever tour of Japan. The Jazz Messengers were among the first modern [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10137,"featured_media":7988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.2.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>ART BLAKEY &amp; THE JAZZ MESSENGERS &quot;FIRST FLIGHT TO TOKYO: THE LOST 1961 RECORDINGS&quot; OUT DEC. 10 - Blue Note Records<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenote.com\/art-blakey-the-jazz-messengers-first-flight-to-tokyo-the-lost-1961-recordings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ART BLAKEY &amp; THE JAZZ MESSENGERS &quot;FIRST FLIGHT TO TOKYO: THE LOST 1961 RECORDINGS&quot; OUT DEC. 10 - Blue Note Records\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On December 10, Blue Note Records will release First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings, a thrilling previously unreleased live recording of Art Blakey &amp; The Jazz Messengers captured at Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo on January 14, 1961 during the band\u2019s first-ever tour of Japan. 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