Art Blakey and the Jazz Messenger: Hard Bop, Columbia 6 Eye Vinyl, 1957

I can't think of an album more aptly titled than this session from 1957, Hard Bop.

 Hard bop, a term used to describe this harder and more blues based sound opposed to be-bop, which was a lighter yet more complex music that involved rapid chord changes .

Hard Bop the album, on Columbia Records was one of the few Art cut for the label.

 Jackie McLean on alto sax, and Bill Hardman on trumpet offer a front line support that was one of Blakey's more underrated units.

This, along with the RCA Victor album A Night in Tunisia "not the Blue Note Album" are fine example of this band.

The pictured vinyl copy  is one I found at a Catholic charities thrift shop. I remember  that day fondly, as I spent a good 200 dollars in there, with about 50 of the 100 records I found going directly into my collection.

 A bunch of rare big band mostly from Clare Fischer, Johnny Richards, and Stan Kenton. These were all first presses in excellent condition.

Trumpeter Bill Hardman is a name you don't hear much, I think that might be because he played with Blakey in the 50's and again in the 70's, but never appeared on a Blue Note messengers album. I think this has been a big reason he is lost in the shuffle.

Outside of Blakey, Hardman did not lead that many sessions of his own, just seems to be bad luck and circumstance, because he is a fine player in the Clifford Brown tradition.