Paris Jam Session is a live album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with guest appearances by Bud Powell and Barney Wilen, recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on 18 December 1959.[1] It was released by Fontana (France) originally, by EmArcy in 1961, and subsequently by Verve on CD as part of their Jazz in Paris series.[2]

Paris Jam Session
Live album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Released	1961
Recorded	18 December 1959
Genre	Hard bop
Length	42:12
Label	Fontana (France) 680 207 TL
Producer	Marcel Romano
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers chronology
Art Blakey et les Jazz Messengers au Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1959) Paris Jam Session (1961) The Big Beat (1960)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
The Guardian	[4]

Allmusic gave the album 4½ stars with Ken Dryden's review stating: "This is one of the essential live dates in Art Blakey's rather extensive discography".[3] The Guardian's John Fordham rated the album 3 stars out of 5, saying, "the heated live-show informality is really stoked by Blakey's elemental (or maybe just mental) drumming and some spine-tingling improvising by the young Wayne Shorter, unintentional reed-squeaks and all".[4]

Track listing

1. "Dance of the Infidels" (Bud Powell) — 12:26
2. "Bouncing with Bud" (Gil Fuller, Powell) — 11:38
3. "The Midget" (Lee Morgan) — 11:06
4. "A Night in Tunisia" (Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli) — 7:02

Personnel

• Art Blakey – drums
• Lee Morgan – trumpet
• Barney Wilen – alto sax (tracks 1-2 only)
• Wayne Shorter – tenor sax
• Bud Powell – piano (tracks 1-2 only)
• Walter Davis Jr. – piano (tracks 3-4 only)
• Jymie Merritt – bass

References