• Vinyl LP album cover for John Hicks' 'Moanin'' with Japanese obi strip, featuring a bold red cover with black and white typography and a small black-and-white photo of the pianist.

John Hicks Trio

Moanin' - Portrait Of Art Blakey

Regular price $155.00
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SLEEVE
NM-
MEDIA
  • VG+
YEAr
  • 1999
COUNTRY
Japan
extras
  • Obi, Insert
IF YOU LIKE
  • Jazz
  • Hard Bop
  • McCoy Tyner
  • Cedar Walton
  • Kenny Barron

Moanin’: Portrait of Art Blakey by the John Hicks Trio is a stellar, high-energy hard bop tribute that masterfully reimagines iconic Jazz Messengers repertoire into an intimate piano trio format. Recorded for Japan's audiophile-focused Venus Records in 1992, the album features Hicks—a former Messenger himself—alongside bassist Marcus McLaurine and drummer Victor Lewis. Rather than simply mimicking the thunderous horn-heavy original arrangements, Hicks uses muscular, McCoy Tyner-esque block chords to fill the sonic space, while Lewis pays brilliant homage to Blakey with crisp, snapping polyrhythms and signature snare rolls. From the soulful call-and-response of the title track to the driving groove of "Blues March," this session stands out as a deeply personal, brilliantly engineered late-career gem in Hicks' discography that avoids tribute-album clichès by injecting fresh, rhythmic vitality into foundational jazz standards.

Side A

  • A1 - No Problem - 7:20
  • A2 - Whisper Not - 7:00
  • A3 - Nica's Dream - 8:10

Side B

  • B1 - Moanin' - 7:14
  • B2 - Blues March - 7:06
  • B3 - A Night In Tunisia - 7:27