"Moanin'" (Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers)

I really didn't know all that much about jazz when I bought my first jazz album.  It was a compilation by Blue Note Records called The Best of Blue Note (1991).  Although in time I'd come to recognize that the album consisted strictly of "hard bop" tunes from the late 50s/early 60s, I had no idea how to categorize it when I first heard it, sitting at a listening station in our local mall's Camelot Music store.  I only knew I liked the funky, bluesy feel of the songs.  And one track stood out in particular: "Moanin'" by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, taken from the 1959 album of the same name.

"Moanin'" was composed by Bobby Timmons, the pianist for The Jazz Messengers, circa 1958/9.  The song originated from a bluesy little 8-bar improvisation that Timmons would play between numbers at shows.  Although Timmons regarded the riff as a throwaway, the band's saxophonist, Benny Golson, heard something more and encouraged Timmons to add a bridge section and develop it into a full-fledged song.  Still somewhat doubtful about the composition, Timmons and his bandmates debuted "Moanin'" in late 1958 at the 502 Club in Columbus, OH.  To his surprise and Golson's satisfaction, it was a huge hit with the crowd and instantly became a hard bop classic.

So what exactly makes the song "hard bop"?

Primarily, it's the rhythmic approach.  Unlike cool jazz of that same era, which tended to be lushly orchestrated/arranged and supported by soft, subtle rhythms often played with brushes on snares, hard bop was brassier, bolder, and punchier.  It took its cues directly from gospel and blues.  In fact, the gospel influence—particularly in the call-and-response interchange between Timmons and the unison playing of trumpeter Lee Morgan and Golson on the choruses—is undeniable.

Every solo on this song is executed perfectly, and the level of ESP is amazing.  Case in point: my favorite moment comes around the 3:00 mark as Morgan wraps up his funky turn.  He plays this short line of notes, kind of as an afterthought, and Golson intuitively picks up on the same theme, using it as a segue into his own inventive solo.  It makes me smile every time I hear it.