After two pretty underwhelming collections of orthodox arduous bop for the Chicago indie label Vee-Jay – 1959’s Introducing Wayne Shorter and 1962’s Wayning Moments – tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter landed at New York’s Blue Word Data in 1964 the place, with a sequence of constantly wonderful recordings, he quickly blossomed into one of many fashionable jazz period’s best composers. In August 1964, 4 months after recording Evening Dreamer, his darkly good debut for the label, 30-year-old Shorter returned to Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey to document a follow-up LP. Utilizing the identical musicians that helped deliver Evening Dreamer to life – pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Elvin Jones, all members of the trailblazing John Coltrane Quartet – Shorter created JuJu, an early masterpiece in his canon.
Shorter was nonetheless with drummer Artwork Blakey’s Jazz Messengers when he joined Blue Word, changing Benny Golson because the band’s saxophonist-composer in 1959. Blakey inspired Shorter’s efforts at composition, instilling a way of directness, precision, and goal. “We had fun with Art learning what we called at that time ‘getting to the point,’” Shorter instructed this author in 2012. “He said, ‘Get to the point playing jazz and don’t spend time practicing when you’re making a record. If you want to practice something, practice not repeating an idea, a thought, or an expression.’”
Taking over board Blakey’s dictum, Shorter started writing music that studiously averted arduous bop cliches. In his 4 years with the drummer, he developed a particular, uniquely particular person, type as a composer, writing among the band’s best-loved tunes, together with “Lester Left Town,” “Ping Pong,” and “Backstage Sally.” Although allowed to document with Vee-Jay as a pacesetter shortly after becoming a member of The Messengers, the younger saxophonist didn’t appear prepared for the accountability of constructing a solo document. Regardless of his exemplary work in The Messengers, his first two albums, although promising, fell in need of expectations. At Blue Word, nonetheless, underneath the steerage of producer Alfred Lion, a seemingly remodeled Shorter rose to the problem, fulfilling the early potential he’d proven.
If Evening Dreamer confirmed us the true Wayne Shorter – modern, good, and fearlessly pushing musical boundaries – then JuJu drew us deeper into his arcane world with its occult themes and references to far-off cultures. The opening title observe “JuJu” – alluding to the West African perception within the energy of magic – discovered Shorter blowing keening horn notes over Tyner’s mysterious chord adjustments and Jones’ unsettling polyrhythms. Although the observe had a Coltrane-like depth, Shorter’s penchant for concise however pithy musical statements and epigrammatic phrasing made it completely distinctive.
Regardless of its title, the free-flowing “Deluge” proved much less intense than the opener, whereas “House Of Jade” was a sublime gradual blues exhibiting Shorter at his most lyrical. “Mahjong” – named after the Chinese language sport – unsurprisingly was imbued with a decidedly Japanese really feel. In sharp distinction, the hard-charging “Yes Or No” was a no-frills modal-tinged hard-bop piece. The closing observe, “Twelve More Bars To Go” possessed a looser really feel, exhibiting Shorter immersing himself within the blues. “The picture I had in my mind was of someone having a very good time, going around to every bar in town,” he revealed in JuJu’s liner notes.
In September 1964, a month after JuJu was accomplished, Miles Davis – who had been making an attempt to tempt the saxophonist away from The Messengers for a number of years – lastly succeeded in luring Shorter into his band’s new lineup. The saxophonist would go on to do nice issues in Miles’ band, cementing his standing as considered one of jazz’s biggest composers. However he additionally continued his parallel solo profession at Blue Word, staying with the label till 1971 when he left to co-found the fusion supergroup Climate Report. Miles Davis’ appreciation for Shorter’s skills ought to have come as no shock, although. JuJu is spellbinding, an album the place you possibly can actually hear Shorter formulating his individualistic strategy to taking part in and composing.
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