Blue Note Records will release a previously unheard live recording of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, captures at the Hibiya Public Hall in Tokyo on January 14, 1961, during their first-ever tour of Japan. First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings will be released on November 5 and features one of the band’s all-time great lineups with the legendary drummer Art Blakey alongside Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Bobby Timmons on piano and Jymie Merritt on bass. The announcement of the 2-LP/2-CD release coincides with the release of its first single, a live rendition of The Jazz Messengers’ hit “Moanin’,” penned by Timmons around three years prior to this performance. You can listen to it via the player below and pre-order First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings HERE.
Featured photo by Hozumi Nakadaira.
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