Now, a Jazz Moment...

MUSIC: "Buhaina's Delight" CD: Buhaina's Delight, BlueNote 92425 (cut 3)

Curtis Fuller: I really wanted to write something with Art Blakey in mind, and I wrote "Buhaina's Delight," which became title of the album.   I wrote it for him.

"Buhaina", as drummer Art Blakey was commonly known, was a powerful force in jazz.   He influenced countless musicians, like NEA Jazz Master Curtis Fuller, who was a member of Blakey's "Jazz Messengers" sextet in the early 1960s.

Curtis Fuller: With that group itself, we were all driven by the fact that he encouraged us all to write.   There wasn't such a thing as a leader.   As a matter of fact, I was so humble, he forced me to do the speaking for the band and I did all the introductions and... he was very important in my life. He knew I had no family and stuff and he took me in to live with his family. To me, he never knew this, how much I really cared for him as a human being, you know.

MUSIC: same - up and under

This Jazz Moment on Art Blakey with trombonist Curtis Fuller was created by the National Endowment For The Arts.