More than any other Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers album, 1958's *Moanin'* - featuring the great drummer with trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt – was the perfect crystallization of the band's soul. A bluesy and soulful sound, it remains perhaps the most quintessential hard bop recording of all time.
Initially self-titled, the album was later renamed *Moanin'* due to the popularity of Timmons' unforgettable opening track. The album also features several indelible compositions by Golson that would become standards in the jazz songbook, including "Along Came Betty" and "Blues March."