Wayne Shorter - 1962 - Wayning Moments

Wayne Shorter 

1962

Wayning Moments

01. Black Orpheus
02. Devil's Island
03. Moon Of Manakoora
04. Dead End
05. Wayning Moments
06. Powder Keg
07. All Or Nothing At All
08. Callaway Went That-A-Way

Bass – James Merritt
Drums – Marshall Thompson
Piano – Eddie Higgins
Tenor Saxophone – Wayne Shorter
Trumpet – Freddie Hubbard

The liner notes, the originals of which are included with this reissue, reflect that "this is not experimental jazz." It isn't. It is finely performed mainstream jazz of the era in which it was made. While this recording does not equal the quality of the sessions to be recorded by Shorter later in the decade for Blue Note, it is pleasantly played bop. Shorter's tenor saxophone shows a conservative side, to be sure, and a young Freddie Hubbard hardly takes any chances. Still, the rhythm section anchored by pianist Eddie Higgins and including bassist Jymie Merritt and drummer Marshall Thompson, keeps a solid beat and the results are pleasant enough. Double takes of all but one of the eight charts is included, though there are really not any important substantive differences from the originals. The short recording times of each track limits the solos, but there is nonetheless an attractive simplicity infusing the set. Overall, this does not represent the best work of either Shorter or Hubbard, but it is still an interesting, if non-essential part of the discography of each of them.

Even at a tender young age, Wayne Shorter could exhibit the kind of sensitivity and creative lyricism that would make him one of the giants of modern jazz. This early set – which features playing by Freddie Hubbard, Eddie Higgins, and Jymie Merritt – is filled with haunting original compositions ("Devil's Island", "Dead End", "Powder Keg") and the kind of mature playing that you'd hardly expect from a little tike like Shorter (who, with Lee Morgan, was just a kid when the two of them were playing with Art Blakey). This excellent CD reissue delivers these early tracks in stunning fidelity, and includes alternate takes of the tracks on the orginal LP!