The Allmusic review of Art Blakey's 1957 album Drum Suite concludes: "Groundbreaking for its time, and still sounding vital, powerful, and visionary, the Drum Suite album is somewhat of a lost masterpiece that deserves a fresh audience."
The suite itself only occupies one side of the album, the other taken up with three tracks from the Jazz Messengers. Each of the suite's three "movements", recorded as one take, were intended to only be a run through, but the energy captured in the takes was easily enough to make it to the issued release - only the Swahili vocals in The Sacrifice needed a little polishing.
Art Blakey was not only the standout jazz drummer of his era, but also a mentor of young aspiring musicians who he invited to join his Jazz Messengers - an ever-evolving group that gave opportunities for many generations of jazz musicians.
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