Wayne Shorter - 1967 - Schizophrenia

Wayne Shorter

1967

Schizophrenia

01. Tom Thumb 6:15
02. Go 4:52
03. Schizophrenia 6:59
04. Kryptonite 6:25
05. Miyako 5:55
06. Playground 6:20

Recorded March 10, 1967 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Alto Saxophone, Flute – James Spaulding
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Joe Chambers
Piano – Herbie Hancock
Tenor Saxophone – Wayne Shorter
Trombone – Curtis Fuller

Wayne Shorter was so important to the world of modern jazz starting around 1960 that it is hard to know where to start. As Richard S. Ginell puts it in Shorter's biography on AllMusic:

Though some will argue about whether Wayne Shorter's primary impact on jazz has been as a composer or a saxophonist, hardly anyone will dispute his overall importance as one of jazz's leading figures over a long span of time. Though indebted to a great extent to John Coltrane, with whom he practiced in the mid-1950's while still an undergraduate, Shorter eventually developed his own more succinct manner on tenor sax, retaining the tough tone quality and intensity and, in later years, adding an element of funk. On soprano, Shorter is almost another player entirely, his lovely tone shining like a light bean, his sensibilities attuned more to lyrical thoughts, his choice of notes becoming more sparse as his career unfolded. Shorter's influence as a player, stemming mainly from his achievements in the '60s and '70s, was tremendous upon the neo-bop brigade who emerged in the early '80s, most notably Branford Marsalis. As a composer, he is best known for carefully conceived, complex, long-limbed, endlessly winding tunes, many of which have become jazz standards yet have spawned few imitators.

After spending four years with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1959 to 1963 (where he eventually became the musical director), Shorter joined Miles Davis' second classic quintet in 1964, staying with him until 1970. During his time with Miles, he recorded a series of albums for Blue Note that were all outstanding and some are even considered stone-cold classics (Speak No Evil, JuJu, Adam's Apple). Towards the end of this run of recordings came Schizophrenia in 1967, a fantastic record that shows off the "two" sides of Shorter - his straight ahead compositions, along with those that moved more into the free jazz and post bop realms.

Just check out the opener "Tom Thumb," which starts out sounding like a typical late-'60s soulful Blue Note number, before it soon shows itself to be a more advanced hard bop and adventurous piece [listen to "Tom Thumb" above]. It shows off how talented Shorter was at choosing sidemen to accompany him: Spaulding, Fuller and Hancock are extremely comfortable with this form of jazz. Fuller, as always, is just pure joy to listen to, he is as underrated as it gets among his fellow brass players of the day. Spaulding also shows just how important he was to this mid-to-late '60s era of Blue Note recordings: how many great sessions from this period did he add his muscular alto and delicate flute playing to? And, Herbie? Well, he's Herbie. Solid as a rock and always showing why he is deserving of all the accolades heaped upon him over the years. It, of course, didn't hurt that Shorter had been recording and touring with Hancock and Carter as bandmates for a few years by 1967, during his time with Miles Davis, forming one of the more memorable symbiotic quintets in the history of jazz.

Compare the soulful and bluesy "Tom Thumb" with the album closer "Playground," a track that fully shows off Shorter's notions of what free jazz can be, it's an intricate and unpredictable composition that illustrates not just how talented this group of players is, but also how much they are on the same page at this point in their respective careers [listen to "Playground" above]. Shorter's meaty and swinging solos are matched by Fuller and Spaulding in turn. The rhythm section of Hancock, Carter and Chambers sound like they are having the time of their lives stepping outside of the standard modern jazz that they would have been accustomed to playing most of the time.

The rest of the record falls somewhere between the opening and closing tunes, most easily classified as post bop, but with that soulful edge that defined much of Blue Note's classic sound. In retrospect, this album doesn't sound nearly as "out there" as it may have to some listeners when it was released in 1967, but what it does sound like is the work of a master at the peak of his powers - both as a player and a composer - who is joined by a group of like-minded and ultra-talented musicians who are thrilled to be along for the ride. It is an under-appreciated and overlooked classic from Shorter's first period of recordings as a leader.

Wayne Shorter was at the peak of his creative powers when he recorded Schizophrenia in the spring of 1967. Assembling a sextet that featured two of his Miles Davis bandmates (pianist Herbie Hancock and bassist Ron Carter), trombonist Curtis Fuller, alto saxophonist/flautist James Spaulding and drummer Joe Chambers, Shorter found a band that was capable of conveying his musical "schizophrenia," which means that this is a band that can play straight just as well as they can stretch the limits of jazz. At their best, they do this simultaneously, as they do on the opener "Tom Thumb." The beat and theme of the song are straightforward, but the musical interplay and solos take chances that result in unpredictable results. And "unpredictable" is the operative phrase for this set of edgy post-bop. Shorter's compositions (as well as Spaulding's lone contribution, "Kryptonite") have strong themes, but they lead into uncharted territory, constantly challenging the musicians and the listener. This music exists at the border between post-bop and free jazz -- it's grounded in post-bop, but it knows what is happening across the border. Within a few years, he would cross that line, but Schizophrenia crackles with the excitement of Shorter and his colleagues trying to balance the two extremes.