At some point, one might ask which veteran jazz musicians did not play in the “university of jazz” called Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. Familiar names abound through this review, but so many more go unmentioned. Here we present a short-lived version of a group deep into Blakey’s fourth decade. We associate Blakey’s great records mostly with the ‘50s and ‘60s, but Strasbourg ‘82 (Gearbox) is as worthy as any. These nine tracks comprise around 85 minutes of straight-ahead, glorious jazz.
Branford and Wynton Marsalis arrived in 1980 but were gone by 1982. In their place, also from New Orleans came teenage trumpeter Terence Blanchard upon Wynton’s recommendation. Blanchard’s slightly older buddy, the 25-year-old…

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