Art Blakey was born on 11 October 1919 and died on 16 October 1990. He started as a musician in the early 1940s and had for a moment his own big band, but from 1944 he started playing in Billy Eckstine's big band. He was the leader and creator of the Jazz Messengers, started in 1954, he played together with them until his death. From 1947 until 1972 he did some recordings together with Thelonious Monk.