The Nash to Celebrate Art Blakey and Jazz Messengers, 3/29

The Nash celebrates the legacy of Art Blakely and The Jazz Messengers with an all-star line up of Messenger alums arriving in Phoenix to perform March 29 for two shows: 6:30 pm and 8:45pm at The Nash, 110 E. Roosevelt.

The concert includes five former Jazz Messengers: Javon Jackson-tenor sax, Bobby Watson-alto sax, Eddie Henderson-trumpet, Benny Green-piano. Peter Washington-bass plus master drummer Lewis Nash, performing familiar favorites from the Blakey songbook, including "Blues March", "Moanin", "Mosaic", "Along Came Betty", "One by One", "This is for Albert", "Arabia", "Caravan", "Up Jumped Spring" and "Whisper Not".

Tickets are on sale at www.thenash.org with an Early Bird Discount when ordering through March 16.

About The Jazz Messengers The Jazz Messengers was one of the most important and influential ensembles in modern jazz history. Its leader, drummer Art Blakey, is widely credited with ushering the music into the modern era, and pioneering the bebop and hard bop sounds that still dominate today's scene.

Throughout Blakey's nearly 50 years as leader of the Jazz Messengers, the group served as the proving ground for an uncanny number of future jazz headliners -from Horace Silver, Jackie McLean, Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter to Terence Blanchard, Kenny Garrett, Branford and Wynton Marsalis and many more.

Blakey's knack for hiring the most promising talent from among newcomers to the jazz scene was legendary. Membership in the Jazz Messengers was a badge of honor and arrival, and often a ticket to a long and celebrated career.Blakey was more than just a bandleader. He had one of the most joyful and explosive drum styles in jazz history-filled with dramatic press rolls and distinctive, infectious grooves. As the name of his legendary ensemble suggests, Blakey was also a preacher, bestowing the message of jazz on all who were fortunate to hear the music of the Messengers.

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