Track Listing

1. The Sacrifice
2. Cubano Chant
3. Oscalypso
4. Nica's Tempo
5. D's Dilemma
6. Just For Marty
7. Lil 'T (aka The Third)
8. The New Message (aka Little T)
9. The New Message (aka Little T)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #238602 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2005-08-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Enhanced, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Customer Reviews

AVOID -- INSTALLS A SONY ROOTKIT VIRUS
It's absolutely infuriating that Sony implanted a significant portion of the Art Blakey 'Drum Suite' CDs made around 2005 with an instant-install rootkit copy protection scheme. The same goes for a number of other Sony pressings, including the Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra 'Great American Songbook' CDs, Dexter Gordon's 'Manhattan Symphonie', Gerry Mulligan's 'Jeru', Horace Silver's 'Silver's Blue' and about 40 other CDs.

This Sony rootkit (The XCP rootkit) lodges itself in your Windows operating system if you so much as put the CD in your computer's drive, sends info to Sony, affects your performance, and has been exploited by hackers since 2004. Rootkits are notoriously difficult to detect and dislodge, and you have two options: Use the reputable company F-Secure's BlackLight rootkit detector, which is a free tool on their website, or use the Sony-provided removal tool, which you can get from the Sony site. Per Amazon's policy, I can't give you a link, but you can find the page by Googling "Sony XCP."

If you have/buy a CD with bar code number 827969363720, then you have a CD with a rootkit problem. This also applies to record club pressing D162083.

In 2005, Sony also stated that it would allow owners to swap these CDs for new non-XCP copies -- but only if you have the precise bar code above. Still, there is no information on how to do so. My hunch is that you use the Tech Support link at the Sony XCP site to email Sony, and they'll provide the Return to Manufacturer details.

Amazon itself supposedly returned all of its old XCP copies to Sony, but it's not clear to me that there really was reissue without XCP. Anyway, the small sellers on Amazon Marketplace may still have the old copies for sale, unknowingly. Who knows what bar code you'll get if you buy one? Unfortunately, this also hoses all the people trying to sell their copies here on Amazon Marketplace. If you're a seller, I urge you to specify the barcode on your product.

A Classic Adventure In Jazz
If copy protection is an issue for you, just be careful to get a CD that suits your needs.
The music on this album is excellent. It incorporates true African drumming and Swahili chants, and this makes it a "Must Have" for students of percussion. Blakey does what he always does, add to that the piano work of Ray Bryant, drummer Jo Jones, Candido & Sabu on congas & bongos, Charles Wright with tympani, Oscar Pettiford on bass, and side one of the Drum Suite becomes one of the most exciting, percussive, and innovative jazz albums ever made.
Side Two features the more conventional jazz of the Jazz Messengers. Bill Hardman on trumpet, Jackie McClean on alto, Sam Dockery on piano, Spank deBrest on bass deliver the signature sound of The Jazz Messengers at their best, playing small combo '50s jazz with intensity, excellence and passion. This is a classic album which explores true African musical foundations, and stays true to the sound of Jazz. Just play some of the samples, and you'll hear what I mean.

Warning! This CD is COPY PROTECTED!
When I took this CD home, I was livid when I saw the copy-protection logo on the cover. I always rip my CDs into iTunes so the disc was basically worthless to me. So, I returned it and got a refund: no questions asked. Sure, the CD may be available in iTunes, but what if I want to listen to it on my iPod AND have a physical copy in case my computer erases all my music? Well, thanks to Sony, I don't have that option.

Bottom line: NEVER buy any CD that's copy-protected. I love Art Blakey, but if you need to get any of his CDs, then buy any of his Blue Note releases. At least Blue Note doesn't copy protect their music, thank goodness.