The Classic Blue Note Recordings

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The Newark, New Jersey tenor and soprano saxophonist Wayne Shorter is the most evocative composer of the modern jazz era. His urgent, Coltrane-influenced sax sound, his stints with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Miles Davis, and Weather Report, and his classic compositions span the ebb of the hard bop era in the late '50s to the daring avant-garde and fusion period of the late '60s and early '70s. This two-CD set compiles the best of his songs from his recordings on the legendary Blue Note label, from 1960 to 1989. The first disc contains 12 selections from Shorter's recording dates as a leader, with drummers Elvin Jones and Tony Williams; pianists Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and McCoy Tyner; trumpeters Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard; and bassists Ron Carter and Reggie Workman. Shorter has the rare ability to simultaneously portray a specific visual image and evoke mystery. His angular and edgy tenor sound drives the straight-ahead and Afro-Latin swing of "Witch Hunt," "Speak No Evil," and "Black Nile." His version of "Footprints" is more meditative than the one recorded by Miles, while the soulful strut of "Adam's Apple" rocks with a jazzy boogalo beat. On "Super Nova," Shorter's soaring sound foreshadows his fearless forays in the "New Thing."

The second disc highlights Shorter's work as a sideman. His post-bop classics with Art Blakey are included, from his swinging tribute to Lester Young ("Lester Left Town") to the Latinesque "United." This collection also includes Shorter's sides with ex-Jazz Messengers band mates Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan, with the dark and dancing "Marie Antoinette" from the LP Ready for Freddie, and the sophisticated bossa nova syncopations of "Rio" from Morgan's album The Procrastinator. The last two selections, a beautiful live version of "Limbo" from pianist Michel Petrucciani's 1986 CD, Power of Three, with guitarist Jim Hall, and a fusion-friendly take on "Nefertiti" with drummer Lenny White and bassist Stanley Clarke from the Manhattan Project, demonstrate the timelessness of Wayne Shorter's music and the soundscapes it charted. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Product Description
22 tracks and 29 years of some of the finest compositions and musicianship modern jazz has to offer, courtesy of saxophonist Wayne Shorter and the Blue Note label! Disc one takes 12 tunes - 'Yes or No', 'Speak No Evil', 'Super Nova', and more - from those classic '60s Blue Note LPs, while disc two looks at his work as sideman with Art Blakey, Lee Morgan and Freddy Hubbard among others. Tasteful, challenging...modern jazz at its best! 2002.

The Classic Blue Note Recordings,Wayne Shorter,Blue Note Records,Hard Bop,Jazz,Jazz Music,Modal Music,Pop,Post-Bop

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