If you crave proof as to how the subtleties of the drummer’s beat radically alters jazz and moves you away from relying on the sound of say hard bop that you hold in your head from classic recordings then look no further than A Tribute To Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers out this month on Blue Note records from former Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen.

More bass drum heavy, an Allen innovation, the beat lingering further back on ‘Moanin’’ than convention dictates, the horns a little grittier and more approximate, the musical architecture a bit more regular, compare the masterful Allen approach to orthodox big band treatments of similar material such as the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s where the emphasis is more on manicured swing and the zinging spang-a-lang of the ride cymbal and less on the earthy fundamentals of the drum head that Allen manages to harness so well via his own Afrobeat inventions, and you will certainly be pleasantly surprised, enlightened even. Recorded in Paris, listen above to footage, the EP features besides ‘Moanin’,’ ‘A Night In Tunisia’, ‘Politely’ and ‘Drum Thunder Suite.’