A set that features 15 tracks from
Wayne Shorter's early years recording for Vee Jay Records! Some of the work is from the Introducing
Wayne Shorter album – the birth of a genius! From the vantage point of the 21st century,
Wayne Shorter hardly needs any introduction – but when he recorded this debut album in the late 50s,
Shorter was just the new kid on the block – making a few important waves as the tenor star in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. The album wisely works off that fame, and pairs
Shorter with co-Messenger Lee Morgan – in front line on the trumpet – but it's also got a slightly different groove too, thanks to a rhythm team that includes Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. The Kelly trio approach makes for a nice change from the Blakey mode – and
Shorter more than follows suit by blowing some wonderfully well-crafted solos, and working in a more introspective soul mode – really pointing the way towards his later genius as a leader on Blue Note.
Shorter also emerges as a heck of a great writer too – contributing 5 great original tracks to the set, titles that include "Blues A La Carte", "Harry's Last Stand", "Black Diamond", "Pug Nose", and "Down in The Depths". The set also features material from the album Wayning Moments – a great 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).