Juju

About

As a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and on three fledgling efforts as a leader for Vee-Jay, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter made his early mark—very clearly as a John Coltrane disciple, but one with his own melodic logic, expressive tone, and compositional gift. Moving to Blue Note in 1964 for <i>Night Dreamer</i>, and joining Miles Davis’ revolutionary second quintet the same year, Shorter began a burst of creative activity that took many routes over many decade, all the way up to Kennedy Center Honoree at the age of 84. <i>JuJu</i>, his second on Blue Note, was arguably his first stone-cold knockout, the one that put the world on notice: A genius had arrived. It’s quite a coup when a Coltrane devotee gets to record with Coltrane’s rhythm section. Shorter did it on <i>Night Dreamer</i> (adding Lee Morgan on trumpet) and also on <i>JuJu</i>. Omitting Morgan, Shorter pared down to quartet on <i>JuJu</i> and once again hired pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Elvin Jones—essentially Coltrane’s band. (Jimmy Garrison was Coltrane’s main bassist at the time, but Workman also did significant work with Trane during his groundbreaking Impulse! period.) Jones’ roiling, elastic, and explosive swing feel, Tyner’s fresh voicings and surging solo, Workman’s unpredictable shapes and lines and timbres—somehow Shorter had the strength of will to make this historic Coltrane lineup sound like a Shorter lineup. Coltrane recorded <i>A Love Supreme</i> (with Garrison on bass) just four months later. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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