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Jazz drummer-bandleader Art Blakey, b. Pittsburgh,
Pa., Oct. 11, 1919, d. Oct. 16, 1990, was known as the wildest
and most vital drummer to emerge from the bop movement . His
famous drum roles were executed with explosive vehemence.
After a visit to West Africa in the late 1950s, Blakey introduced
a new style of drumming to jazz. He incorporated traditional
African instruments, rhythms, and techniques that have since
gained increasing importance for jazz drummers. His artistic
ingenuity helped to emancipate the drums from a simple pulse-setting
function to one that adds melodic possibilities through the
use of complex rhythms. Blakey, who formed his Jazz Messengers
(a group that had an ever-changing lineup) in 1955, continued
to perform and record with the group until the late 1980s.
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