From the late 40s and onward, many African Americans converted to Islam. The rise of Elijah Muhammad, and the teachings of the NOI (Nation of Islam) were gaining a foothold with many blacks. The NOI conversion numbers saw new heights with the popularity of Malcolm X in the 60s. Taking a quick look at the jazz world in the period from the late 40s and onward, you’d see the effect this had on black jazz musicians. Many converted to Islam, and changed their names. Click here for a fairly comprehensive list of jazz musicians who converted to Islam.
One of the most popular converts to Islam was Art Blakey. His conversion came sometime in the late 40s, and he legally changed his name to Abdullah Ibn Buhaina. Professionally, he was always known as Art Blakey, but he was affectionately known as “Bu”, which was short for Buhaina.
In 1961, Blakey and The Jazz Messengers recorded the songs for the album “Buhaina’s Delight“. It included the title track, Bu’s Delight, which was written by Curtis Fuller. The full Jazz Messengers lineup at the time was Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, Jymie Merritt, and Art Blakey.
It’s one of my favorite Jazz Messenger albums, and it usually gets lost in the shuffle when talking about great Jazz Messenger records. Enjoy the cuts below, I added Bu’s Delight first because I think it’s such a powerful song. PS – Art Blakey was born today. Happy birthday Bu!
Filed under: Hard bop, Jazz, Video, Art Blakey, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Blue Note, Cedar Walton, Curtis Fuller, Freddie Hubbard, hard bop, Hardbop, Jymie Merritt, Wayne Shorter
