By the time that jazz icon/bandleader/percussionist Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers began recording for Riverside in the fall of 1962, Blakey had already been the spiritual center of the group for nearly 15 years. The unprecedented caliber of performers who had already passed through the revolving-door personnel reads like a who’s who of 20th century jazz. On Caravan – his first of several notable sides for the venerable label – he is joined by a quintet of concurrent and future all-stars. In order to establish with any authority just how heavy (even for purveyors of hard bop) the players in this band are, they need only to be named: Curtis Fuller (trombone), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Cedar Walton (piano), and Reggie Workman (bass). With Blakey firmly at the helm, these Jazz Messengers deliver a scintillating synergy that doesn’t sacrifice intensity for the sake of cadence. The songs were recorded at the Plaza Sound Studio in New York City, on October 23-24, 1962.

In 2007, the BBC described the album as “a slick, fluid, professional set of hard bop at its finest”.

(Sources: Lindsay Planer, AllMusic and wikipedia)