An exceedingly rare small concert poster advertising a three night stand by the original lineup of the Jazz Messengers. These very early shows by the group, billed as Jazz at Midnight,  took place at New York City’s Circle in the Square theater.

From Wikipedia: Most date the origin of the Jazz Messengers to 1954 or 1955, when the first recordings credited to the band appeared. The Jazz Messengers formed as a collective, nominally led by [Horace]Silver or [Art] Blakey on various dates. Blakey credits Silver with reviving the Messengers name for the group. The other members included Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley and Doug Watkins. Their first recordings officially using the Jazz Messengers name were a pair of live dates, recorded at the Café Bohemia in 1955.

The attractive poster features two photographs of the band, lists the lineup of this essentially newly formed group, and notes the performance will run from 12 A.M. to 3:3o A.M.  Printed on card stock, it measures 9″ x 11″. In excellent condition, with a professionally and virtually invisibly repaired tear to the top edge, and an archivally reattached chip to the bottom edge.

A rare artifact from the earliest days of this most important group.