Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers' Free for All was recorded in February 1964 and released in July 1965. Only four tracks were recorded, two per side. And yet the album is one of the hard-bop group's finest and most ambitious works. The band is firing on all cylinders.
The lineup in 1964 featured Blakey on drums, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Curtis Fuller …