Blue Note Tone Poet Series. One Art Blakey's greatest albums with the Jazz Messengers, Roots & Herbs, is little known. In 1961, the group featured Lee Morgan (trumpet), Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Bobby Timmons (piano) and Jymie Merrit (bass). Recorded in Rudy Van Gelder's New Jersey studio, it's a brilliant set of six Shorter compositions, like the playful "Ping Pong" and the clever "United." It's among Blakey's finest.
