And since we weren't on his level, he'd subject himself to us so we'd learn. He provided the context for musicians to play and develop. Even more important, he represents the most mature man our society can develop because he was making life easier for everyone else. The trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who joined the band as a 17-year-old in 1979, said: ''Art was important to me because he always displayed the maximum belief in integrity and quality. That was the first band I was in, and ever since them I've been trying to lead my band the way he has his.'' ''Even when I was with Miles Davis, Art was the strength of the band. ''It's like the door is closed on a generation of musicians that were developed through Art's band,'' said Mr. And he was a great man, which influenced everybody around him.'' Art was the perhaps the best at maintaining independence with all four limbs. And his signature style was amazing we used to call him 'Thunder.' When I first met him on 52d Street in 1944, he already had the polyrhythmic thing down. ''He's the only drummer whose time I recognize immediately. ''Art was an original,'' said the drummer Max Roach. Blakey shaped each performance by manipulating the texture for his soloists as well a result was a set of performances that always mixed the excitement of improvisation with a real understanding of the personalities and capabilities of the musicians involved. An extraordinary drummer, he would turn each piece into an epic voyage, starting out calmly, slowly packing the tune with texture after texture, always controlling the dynamics until a thunderous barrage released the tension. Blakey, who was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina and was until recently leading his band, the Jazz Messengers, played with a mixture of powerful abandon and precise control. He died of lung cancer, said a hospital spokeswoman, Barbara Cron. He was 71 years old and lived in Manhattan. The drummer and band leader Art Blakey, one of the most influential figures in jazz for the last 40 years, died yesterday at St.
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