35 years of corralling the best of the best young jazz players, including the Marsalis brothers.
The full list of members is a who's who of the modern jazz world. Many went on to form ensembles of their own.

cigarette barely in his mouth. I know next to nothing about his music (I've heard the drumming but I don't know the artistry and will have to ask my drummer son in law!). I do know the social justice message he was getting across and that endears me to him...

Went through the Art Blakey school of music. He was an amazing discoverer of young talent. And he loved to proselytize about jazz.

Here's a great story I hear about him. He was on tour in the south with his band. He stopped in a small town and there was a funeral going on. Someone was up on the podium, talking about the dead person. When his eulogy was done, he invited others to come up to the stand. So Art goes up to the mike and says, "Well, if no one has anything else to say about the deceased, I'd like to say a few words about jazz." Supposedly a true story!