A seminal album from this genius tenorist – a classic session from the late 60s that has Wayne Shorter pushing into a searching, spiritual groove, but one that's still filled with all the taught electricity of his earlier recordings on Blue Note! Shorter's accompanied by youthful modernists like James Spaulding on alto, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – plus the mighty Curtis Fuller on trombone, whose instrument here proves to be the same key extra ingredient that it was on the best Art Blakey sextet sessions of the 60s – bringing some deeper currents to the album that are completely sublime! There's a tight, soulful feel here that's sublime – an Adams Apple sort of groove, but a bit fuller – and titles include the classic "Tom Thumb", plus "Playground", "Schizophrenia", "Kryptonite", "Miyako", and "Go". CD

A seminal album from this genius tenorist – a classic session from the late 60s that has Wayne Shorter pushing into a searching, spiritual groove, but one that's still filled with all the taught electricity of his earlier recordings on Blue Note! Shorter's accompanied by youthful modernists like James Spaulding on alto, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – plus the mighty Curtis Fuller on trombone, whose instrument here proves to be the same key extra ingredient that it was on the best Art Blakey sextet sessions of the 60s – bringing some deeper currents to the album that are completely sublime! There's a tight, soulful feel here that's sublime – an Adams Apple sort of groove, but a bit fuller – and titles include the classic "Tom Thumb", plus "Playground", "Schizophrenia", "Kryptonite", "Miyako", and "Go". LP, Vinyl record album

A great Wayne Shorter session from the mid 60s – recorded then, but not issued until 1979, for some incredibly unexplained reason – especially given the strength of the set! The group is distinctly modern, and features Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, James Spaulding on alto, and McCoy Tyner on piano – all of who were committed to heavily pushing the boundaries of their playing at the time. Added to the mix is the youthful Tony Williams on drums, fresh from work with Miles Davis, and playing with an incredibly free hand on the kit – plus the great Ron Carter on bass. The resulting mix of tracks is a beautiful example of how these mid-60s Blue Note sessions could keep firmly in touch with modern developments in jazz, yet never lapse into the kind of sloppiness that could sometimes ruin sets like these on other labels – always with a keen sense of timing and rhythm, and a sharpness that made Blue Note's "new" newer-sounding than most. Titles include "Lost", "Angola", "The Big Push", and an amazing jazz take on Sibelius' "Valse Triste"! CD

An album of incredible beauty – and one of the key early sides that Wayne Shorter cut for Blue Note! It's nearly impossible to describe the genius of these records without playing them – and upon playing, all words disappear in the brilliance of Shorter's incredible tone, solo imagination, and writing! There's a nascent soulfulness here that would emerge quite strongly across the field of jazz in the late 60s and early 70s – bubbling forth here on the session, with a sound that we could only call Shorter-archetypal – and return to again and again over the years, as proof that few players ever measured up as greatly at such a young age! The group's a quintet with Herbie Hancock on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the set list includes "Speak No Evil", "Infant Eyes", "Witch Hunt", and "Wild Flower". LP, Vinyl record album

An album of incredible beauty – and one of the key early sides that Shorter cut for Blue Note! It's nearly impossible to describe the genius of these records without playing them – and upon playing, all words disappear in the brilliance of Shorter's incredible tone, solo imagination, and writing! There's a nascent soulfulness here that would emerge quite strongly across the field of jazz in the late 60s and early 70s – bubbling forth here on the session, with a sound that we could only call Shorter-archetypal – and return to again and again over the years, as proof that few players ever measured up as greatly at such a young age! The group's a quintet with Herbie Hancock on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the set list includes "Speak No Evil", "Infant Eyes", "Witch Hunt", and "Wild Flower". CD

An album of incredible beauty – and one of the key early sides that Shorter cut for Blue Note! It's nearly impossible to describe the genius of these records without playing them – and upon playing, all words disappear in the brilliance of Shorter's incredible tone, solo imagination, and writing! There's a nascent soulfulness here that would emerge quite strongly across the field of jazz in the late 60s and early 70s – bubbling forth here on the session, with a sound that we could only call Shorter-archetypal – and return to again and again over the years, as proof that few players ever measured up as greatly at such a young age! The group's a quintet with Herbie Hancock on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the set list includes "Speak No Evil", "Infant Eyes", "Witch Hunt", and "Wild Flower". Plus, the CD includes a bonus alternate take of the track "Dance Cadaverous". CD

A pivotal record for Wayne Shorter – as the set opens up with a hint of the direction he'd take in the 70s, especially some of the music he'd create with Weather Report! The album's not a straight fusion outing, though, and it does have a fuller group than a fusion combo – yet there is an electric current as well, as the group features striking guitar work from both John McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock, plus some classical guitar from Walter Booker, bass from Miroslav Vitous, and drums from Jack DeJohnette – all of whom should give you an idea of the album's vibe. Airto plays percussion, and Maria Booker sings vocals on a rendition of "Dindi" – and this complicated larger group gives Shorter a quite different sound than some of his earlier Blue Note quartet and quintet sides. The session's got a great spiritual soul jazz undercurrent – pointing the way towards aspects of jazz in the 70s – and titles include "Super Nova", "Swee Pea", "Water Babies", and "Capricorn". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal record for Wayne Shorter – as the set opens up with a hint of the direction he'd take in the 70s, especially some of the music he'd create with Weather Report! The album's not a straight fusion outing, though, and it does have a fuller group than a fusion combo – yet there is an electric current as well, as the group features striking guitar work from both John McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock, plus some classical guitar from Walter Booker, bass from Miroslav Vitous, and drums from Jack DeJohnette – all of whom should give you an idea of the album's vibe. Airto plays percussion, and Maria Booker sings vocals on a rendition of "Dindi" – and this complicated larger group gives Shorter a quite different sound than some of his earlier Blue Note quartet and quintet sides. The session's got a great spiritual soul jazz undercurrent – pointing the way towards aspects of jazz in the 70s – and titles include "Super Nova", "Swee Pea", "Water Babies", and "Capricorn". CD

Two 60s classics from Wayne Shorter – back to back in a single set! First up is Adams Apple, an incredible album – one of our favorite Blue Notes ever! Despite the fact that the album's a spare quartet session, the record is one of Wayne Shorter's richest – and features his gutsy young tenor soloing insanely with a rhythmically intense combo that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – a wonderfully free-thinking rhythm trio! Workman's bass is especially strong, and it underpins the cuts with a throbbing pulse that takes them past any simple hardbop conventions. Every cut's a winner – and this is one album we reach for time and time again over the years! Titles include "Adam's Apple", "El Gaucho", "Footprints", and "Teru". Next is Super Nova – a bit of a hint of the 70's work by Shorter – as he plays here with a slightly larger group, and a bit of an electric sound. Sonny Sharrock and John McLaughlin play guitar, Airto plays percussion, and Maria Booker sings vocals on a rendition of "Dindi" – and this complicated larger group gives Shorter a quite different sound than some of his earlier Blue Note quartet and quintet sides. The session's got a great spiritual soul jazz undercurrent – pointing the way towards aspects of jazz in the 70s – and titles include "Super Nova", "Swee Pea", "Water Babies", and "Capricorn". CD

Never-issued live work from the great Wayne Shorter – a set that was recorded in 2014, and pulled from the vaults by Shorter himself for release before his too-early passing from this planet! The music has that complex yet soulful quality that Shorter really moved into during his later years – a mix of darker moments and warmer currents served up with the help of Danilo Perez on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Brian Blade on drums – all working together at a jazz festival in Stockholm! The material is definitely top-shelf, and the whole thing stands more as a key album in Shorter's catalog from later years, rather than just some live cuts hurried out on record. Titles include "Smilin Through", "Zero Gravity To The 15th Dimension", "Orbits", "Zero Gravity Unbound", "Lotus", "She Moves Through The Fair", and "Edge Of The World". LP, Vinyl record album

An album of incredible beauty – and one of the key early sides that Shorter cut for Blue Note! It's nearly impossible to describe the genius of these records without playing them – and upon playing, all words disappear in the brilliance of Shorter's incredible tone, solo imagination, and writing! There's a nascent soulfulness here that would emerge quite strongly across the field of jazz in the late 60s and early 70s – bubbling forth here on the session, with a sound that we could only call Shorter-archetypal – and return to again and again over the years, as proof that few players ever measured up as greatly at such a young age! The group's a quintet with Herbie Hancock on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the set list includes "Speak No Evil", "Infant Eyes", "Witch Hunt", and "Wild Flower". CD

A beautiful little album, very different than Wayne Shorter's other work, and sort of a "return of the favor" to the nation of Brazil for the country's rich musical influence on his music! Milton Nascimento sings vocals on most cuts, and if anything, the album resembles Nascimento's work of the mid 70s quite strongly – with similar airy arrangements and a very full, polished sound. Brazilian jazz musicians Airto, Roberto Silva, and Wagner Tiso play on the record – which also features work by Herbie Hancock. Titles include "Ponta De Areia", "Tarde", "Miracle Of The Fishes", "From The Lonely Afternoon", and "Ana Maria". CD

A really unique lineup, coming together in a really unique performance – one that definitely pushes the boundaries of all artists involved, and makes for music that's beyond any expectations you might have for the players! The tracks are long, and the music is often quite free and improvised at times – loose, open, and wonderfully experimental – yet still filled with the individual strengths and souls of each of the players – Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano, Leo Genovese on piano, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, and Esperanda Spaulding on bass and vocals – the latter of which are nicely different here than on her own albums. There's definitely some of the darker currents that Shorter has brought to his music in the past two decades – and titles include "Someplace Called Where", "Endangered Species", "Encontros E Despedidas", "Drummers Song", and "Midnight In Carlotta's Hair". LP, Vinyl record album

Herbie Hancock on piano and Wayne Shorter on soprano saxophone. CD

An incredible album – one of our favorite Blue Notes ever! Despite the fact that the album's a spare quartet session, the record is one of Wayne Shorter's richest – and features his gutsy young tenor soloing insanely with a rhythmically intense combo that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – a wonderfully free-thinking rhythm trio! Workman's bass is especially strong, and it underpins the cuts with a throbbing pulse that takes them past any simple hardbop conventions. Every cut's a winner – and this is one album we reach for time and time again over the years! Titles include "Adam's Apple", "El Gaucho", "Footprints", and "Teru". CD reissue contains an extra bonus cut, "The Collector". CD

Beautiful work from Wayne Shorter – a record that is as complicated as it is compelling, and which shows a real return to the soulful genius of his 70s work. Some of the tracks on the set features Shorter working in a smaller setting, while others add in strings, percussion, and assorted woodwinds – pushing the sound into rich arrays of colors and tones, yet still preserving Shorter's magical talent for a solo. One of the strongest aspects of the album is work on drums by Brian Blade – heavily swinging, but also with a degree of freedom – almost leaping off the kit with a modal sense, yet still holding things firmly in place overall. Titles include "Angola", "Serenata", "Sacajawea", "Capricorn II", and "Orbits". CD

One of the more avant-oriented 60s sessions cut by Wayne Shorter for Blue Note – a record that's not entirely part of the "new thing" generation, but which definitely has Shorter pushing the boundaries from his previous records for the label! The lineup here is a key batch of players who can handle both sides of the fence – inside and outside – Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Grachan Moncur on trombone, Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – all players who were really breaking their own boundaries at the time. The set also features work from Wayne's Brother on one track – avant trumpeter Alan Shorter, who's only known for a few records under his own name, and who really brings a great sound to play here. At times, the record builds into a sound that's freer and more challenging than on some of Shorter's other albums from the time – but less in a free jazz mode, than with an overall sense of purpose that really keeps the message clear. Features all original compositions by the Shorter brothers – and cuts include "Chaos", "Face Of The Deep", "Mephistopheles", and "Genesis". LP, Vinyl record 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". CD also features alternate takes of 4 tracks! CD

Genius, pure genius! Like all of Wayne Shorter's Blue Note sessions from the mid 60s, this album's a beautiful blend of hard bop ideas with a modern spiritual soulful consciousness – as important in its own way as Coltrane's work of the time – an incredible precursor for sounds from generations to come! Shorter's tenor solos are the main focus here, and he plays with creativity and imagination that you don't often hear on his later works – a sharp, soulful approach – but one that's already light years ahead of some of his Blue Note contemporaries – reaching for new ideas, but without any sense of effort – none of the overly-tense notes you'd get later, and instead just a marvelously fluid feel that really makes sense from the very first note – tremendous listening for both the lifetime jazz fan or the newcomer. McCoy Tyner plays piano, and Reggie Workman and Elvin Jones complete the group – and titles include "House Of Jade", "Deluge", "Mahjong", and "Yes Or No". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius, pure genius! Like all of Wayne Shorter's Blue Note sessions from the mid 60s, this album's a beautiful blend of hard bop ideas with a modern spiritual soulful consciousness – as important in its own way as Coltrane's work of the time – an incredible precursor for sounds from generations to come! Shorter's tenor solos are the main focus here, and he plays with creativity and imagination that you don't often hear on his later works – a sharp, soulful approach – but one that's already light years ahead of some of his Blue Note contemporaries – reaching for new ideas, but without any sense of effort – none of the overly-tense notes you'd get later, and instead just a marvelously fluid feel that really makes sense from the very first note – tremendous listening for both the lifetime jazz fan or the newcomer. McCoy Tyner plays piano, and Reggie Workman and Elvin Jones complete the group – and titles include "House Of Jade", "Deluge", "Mahjong", and "Yes Or No". Plus, the CD also includes 2 bonus alternate takes! CD

Beautiful – simply beautiful – one of the greatest Wayne Shorter albums for Blue Note, and one of our favorite jazz albums ever! The record is a masterpiece of lyrical delight – soul jazz mixed with slight touches of experimentalism – but still warm, swinging, and personal enough to captivate even the most novice jazz listener. A players are at the top of their game – and in addition to Shorter's tenor, the group features Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The tracks unfold in lyrical, modal beauty in a really wonderful way that was barely ever duplicated again – and titles include "Night Dreamer", "Oriental Folk Song", "Virgo", "Charcoal Blues", "Armageddon", and "Black Nile". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful – simply beautiful – one of the greatest Wayne Shorter albums for Blue Note, and one of our favorite jazz albums ever! The record is a masterpiece of lyrical delight – soul jazz mixed with slight touches of experimentalism – but still warm, swinging, and personal enough to captivate even the most novice jazz listener. A players are at the top of their game – and in addition to Shorter's tenor, the group features Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The tracks unfold in lyrical, modal beauty in a really wonderful way that was barely ever duplicated again – and titles include "Night Dreamer", "Oriental Folk Song", "Virgo", "Charcoal Blues", "Armageddon", and "Black Nile". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful – simply beautiful – one of the greatest Wayne Shorter albums for Blue Note, and one of our favorite jazz albums ever! The record is a masterpiece of lyrical delight – soul jazz mixed with slight touches of experimentalism – but still warm, swinging, and personal enough to captivate even the most novice jazz listener. A players are at the top of their game – and in addition to Shorter's tenor, the group features Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The tracks unfold in lyrical, modal beauty in a really wonderful way that was barely ever duplicated again – and titles include "Night Dreamer", "Oriental Folk Song", "Virgo", "Charcoal Blues", "Armageddon", and "Black Nile". The CD also includes an alternate take of the cut "Virgo". CD

Beautiful – simply beautiful – one of the greatest Wayne Shorter albums for Blue Note, and one of our favorite jazz albums ever! The record is a masterpiece of lyrical delight – soul jazz mixed with slight touches of experimentalism – but still warm, swinging, and personal enough to captivate even the most novice jazz listener. A players are at the top of their game – and in addition to Shorter's tenor, the group features Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The tracks unfold in lyrical, modal beauty in a really wonderful way that was barely ever duplicated again – and titles include "Night Dreamer", "Oriental Folk Song", "Virgo", "Charcoal Blues", "Armageddon", and "Black Nile". CD also includes an alternate take of the cut "Virgo". CD

A very unusual album for Wayne Shorter – recorded right around that 1970 point when Duke Pearson was exploring formats for Blue Note artists that included larger, often electric arrangements, pointing the way towards some of the later 70s soul jazz work on labels like Kudu or CTI! This set, produced by Pearson, features Shorter as the main soloist on tenor and soprano sax – in a very hip group that includes Dave Friedman on vibes, Gene Bertoncini on guitar, Ron Carter and Cecil McBee on bass, and both Billy Hart and Alphonse Mouzon on drums. Tracks are long and complicated, with searching soulful arrangements that are part post-Miles fusion, part early 70s indie soul jazz – but balanced nicely without any sense of overindulgence at all. Shorter's soprano work is very nice, and much more angular than his playing on tenor – and titles include "Wind", "Joy", "Storm", and "Calm". CD

A great Wayne Shorter session from the mid 60s – recorded then, but not issued until 1979, for some incredibly unexplained reason – especially given the strength of the set! The group is distinctly modern, and features Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, James Spaulding on alto, and McCoy Tyner on piano – all of who were committed to heavily pushing the boundaries of their playing at the time. Added to the mix is the youthful Tony Williams on drums, fresh from work with Miles Davis, and playing with an incredibly free hand on the kit – plus the great Ron Carter on bass. The resulting mix of tracks is a beautiful example of how these mid-60s Blue Note sessions could keep firmly in touch with modern developments in jazz, yet never lapse into the kind of sloppiness that could sometimes ruin sets like these on other labels – always with a keen sense of timing and rhythm, and a sharpness that made Blue Note's "new" newer-sounding than most. Titles include "Lost", "Angola", "The Big Push", and an amazing jazz take on Sibelius' "Valse Triste"! LP, Vinyl record album

A great Wayne Shorter session from the mid 60s – recorded then, but not issued until 1979, for some incredibly unexplained reason – especially given the strength of the set! The group is distinctly modern, and features Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, James Spaulding on alto, and McCoy Tyner on piano – all of who were committed to heavily pushing the boundaries of their playing at the time. Added to the mix is the youthful Tony Williams on drums, fresh from work with Miles Davis, and playing with an incredibly free hand on the kit – plus the great Ron Carter on bass. The resulting mix of tracks is a beautiful example of how these mid-60s Blue Note sessions could keep firmly in touch with modern developments in jazz, yet never lapse into the kind of sloppiness that could sometimes ruin sets like these on other labels – always with a keen sense of timing and rhythm, and a sharpness that made Blue Note's "new" newer-sounding than most. Titles include "Lost", "Angola", "The Big Push", and an amazing jazz take on Sibelius' "Valse Triste"! LP, Vinyl record album

An album of incredible beauty – and one of the key early sides that Shorter cut for Blue Note! It's nearly impossible to describe the genius of these records without playing them – and upon playing, all words disappear in the brilliance of Shorter's incredible tone, solo imagination, and writing! There's a nascent soulfulness here that would emerge quite strongly across the field of jazz in the late 60s and early 70s – bubbling forth here on the session, with a sound that we could only call Shorter-archetypal – and return to again and again over the years, as proof that few players ever measured up as greatly at such a young age! The group's a quintet with Herbie Hancock on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the set list includes "Speak No Evil", "Infant Eyes", "Witch Hunt", and "Wild Flower". LP, Vinyl record album

An album of incredible beauty – and one of the key early sides that Shorter cut for Blue Note! It's nearly impossible to describe the genius of these records without playing them – and upon playing, all words disappear in the brilliance of Shorter's incredible tone, solo imagination, and writing! There's a nascent soulfulness here that would emerge quite strongly across the field of jazz in the late 60s and early 70s – bubbling forth here on the session, with a sound that we could only call Shorter-archetypal – and return to again and again over the years, as proof that few players ever measured up as greatly at such a young age! The group's a quintet with Herbie Hancock on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the set list includes "Speak No Evil", "Infant Eyes", "Witch Hunt", and "Wild Flower". CD

A pivotal record for Wayne Shorter – as the set opens up with a hint of the direction he'd take in the 70s, especially some of the music he'd create with Weather Report! The album's not a straight fusion outing, though, and it does have a fuller group than a fusion combo – yet there is an electric current as well, as the group features striking guitar work from both John McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock, plus some classical guitar from Walter Booker, bass from Miroslav Vitous, and drums from Jack DeJohnette – all of whom should give you an idea of the album's vibe. Airto plays percussion, and Maria Booker sings vocals on a rendition of "Dindi" – and this complicated larger group gives Shorter a quite different sound than some of his earlier Blue Note quartet and quintet sides. The session's got a great spiritual soul jazz undercurrent – pointing the way towards aspects of jazz in the 70s – and titles include "Super Nova", "Swee Pea", "Water Babies", and "Capricorn". CD

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! CD

A beautiful little album, very different than Wayne Shorter's other work, and sort of a "return of the favor" to the nation of Brazil for the country's rich musical influence on his music! Milton Nascimento sings vocals on most cuts, and if anything, the album resembles Nascimento's work of the mid 70s quite strongly – with similar airy arrangements and a very full, polished sound. Brazilian jazz musicians Airto, Roberto Silva, and Wagner Tiso play on the record – which also features work by Herbie Hancock. Titles include "Ponta De Areia", "Tarde", "Miracle Of The Fishes", "From The Lonely Afternoon", and "Ana Maria". LP, Vinyl record album

A follow-up to Shorter's successful Footprints Live album – done in the same sort of angular and introspective mode, and also with a group that includes Danilo Perez on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Brian Blad on drums. The overall style's not as much in the joyous, soulful Shorter mode that we love so much from the earlier years – but the record is a good follow-up to Footprints, and will please if you dig that set. Titles include "Smilin Through", "Joy Ryder", "Tinker Bell", "Over Shadow Hill Way", "Adventures Aboard The Golden Mean", and "Beyond The Sound Barrier". CD

One of our top ten jazz albums of all time! Honest! This stunning session from 1960 not only coined the term "young lions" in jazz, but offers up a pack of them that any modern players would be hard-pressed to beat. Trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenorist Wayne Shorter, and pianist Bobby Timmons take a break from the Jazz Messengers to join altoist Frank Strozier in the frontline on this fantastic set of tracks that ring with a lyrical beauty hardly surpassed by any other hardbop album. Shorter wrote nearly all of the tracks, and the set list includes some of his best-ever work, like "Seeds Of Sin", "Scourin'", and "Peaches & Cream" – all beautiful tracks that are completely sublime. The group's completed by Bob Cranshaw on bass and Albert Heath on drums – and other titles include "Fat Lady", and "That's Right". If you buy one jazz album this year, let it be this one! CD

One of our top ten jazz albums of all time! Honest! This stunning session from 1960 not only coined the term "young lions" in jazz, but offers up a pack of them that any modern players would be hard-pressed to beat. Trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenorist Wayne Shorter, and pianist Bobby Timmons take a break from the Jazz Messengers to join altoist Frank Strozier in the frontline on this fantastic set of tracks that ring with a lyrical beauty hardly surpassed by any other hardbop album. Shorter wrote nearly all of the tracks, and the set list includes some of his best-ever work, like "Seeds Of Sin", "Scourin'", and "Peaches & Cream" – all beautiful tracks that are completely sublime. The group's completed by Bob Cranshaw on bass and Albert Heath on drums – and other titles include "Fat Lady", and "That's Right". If you buy one jazz album this year, let it be this one! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic tribute to the compositional genius of saxophonist Wayne Shorter – and one that also features some great performances from the man himself! We're don't always immediately gravitate to the work of the Jazz At Lincoln Center group, but this is a really special project – one that has the musicians delivering really inspired large group readings of classics from the Shorter songbook – as Wayne's horn settles in beautifully alongside a lineup that also includes Sherman Irby, Ted Nash, Victor Goines, Walter Blanding, and Paul Nedzela on reeds – plus Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Printup, and Ryan Kisor on trumpets – and Vincent Gardner on trombone, Dan Nimmer on piano, Carlos Henriquez on bass, and Ali Jackson on drums. Titles include "Hammer Head", "Diana", "Lost", "Armageddon", "Mama G", "Three Marias", "Teru", "Yes Or No", and "Contemplation". CD

An incredible album – one of our favorite Blue Notes ever! Despite the fact that the album's a spare quartet session, the record is one of Wayne Shorter's richest – and features his gutsy young tenor soloing insanely with a rhythmically intense combo that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – a wonderfully free-thinking rhythm trio! Workman's bass is especially strong, and it underpins the cuts with a throbbing pulse that takes them past any simple hardbop conventions. Every cut's a winner – and this is one album we reach for time and time again over the years! Titles include "Adam's Apple", "El Gaucho", "Footprints", and "Teru". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most compelling albums ever recorded by Wayne Shorter – a triple-length set that may well be his most visionary package in years! The vision is partly expressed in a beautiful graphic novel that comprises the outer package – a long, full-color book that was written by Shorter, and illustrated Randy DeBurke – all with a positive, uplifting spirit that's really carried forward by the music – which begins with a segment that merges Shorter's quartet with the larger Orpheus Chamber Orchestra – who give this really lofty presence to a set of Wayne's original compositions. The quartet continue on the other two discs in the package – that great group with Danilo Perez on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Brian Blade on drums – recorded live in London, on long titles that include "Lotus", "She Moves Through The Fair", "Prometheus Unbound", "Lost & Orbits Medley", and "The Three Marias". 3 X 180 gram vinyl plus the complete set on 3CDs and 84-page graphic novel! A completely insane package – even more amazing than the CD version. LP, Vinyl record album

Don't let the title fool you, as the album's hardly an "etcetera" – not some run-on work from Wayne Shorter, but a real lost cooker from his 60s Blue Note years! The record's got a very sharp-edged quartet sound – a bit modern and edgey at times, with sharp tenor lines from Shorter, piano from Herbie Hancock, bass from Cecil McBee, and drums from Joe Chambers. Wayne recorded the date in 1965, but the material wasn't issued by Blue Note until 15 years later – a delay that somehow made the whole thing even more of a gem, especially at a time when Shorter wasn't blowing this strongly on record. Tracks include four originals "Toy Tune", "Penelope", "Etcetera", and "Indian Song" – plus the Gil Evans number "Barracudas (General Assembly)". CD

Genius, pure genius! Like all of Wayne Shorter's Blue Note sessions from the mid 60s, this album's a beautiful blend of hard bop ideas with a modern spiritual soulful consciousness – as important in its own way as Coltrane's work of the time – an incredible precursor for sounds from generations to come! Shorter's tenor solos are the main focus here, and he plays with creativity and imagination that you don't often hear on his later works – a sharp, soulful approach – but one that's already light years ahead of some of his Blue Note contemporaries – reaching for new ideas, but without any sense of effort – none of the overly-tense notes you'd get later, and instead just a marvelously fluid feel that really makes sense from the very first note – tremendous listening for both the lifetime jazz fan or the newcomer. McCoy Tyner plays piano, and Reggie Workman and Elvin Jones complete the group – and titles include "House Of Jade", "Deluge", "Mahjong", and "Yes Or No". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius, pure genius! Like all of Wayne Shorter's Blue Note sessions from the mid 60s, this album's a beautiful blend of hard bop ideas with a modern spiritual soulful consciousness – as important in its own way as Coltrane's work of the time – an incredible precursor for sounds from generations to come! Shorter's tenor solos are the main focus here, and he plays with creativity and imagination that you don't often hear on his later works – a sharp, soulful approach – but one that's already light years ahead of some of his Blue Note contemporaries – reaching for new ideas, but without any sense of effort – none of the overly-tense notes you'd get later, and instead just a marvelously fluid feel that really makes sense from the very first note – tremendous listening for both the lifetime jazz fan or the newcomer. McCoy Tyner plays piano, and Reggie Workman and Elvin Jones complete the group – and titles include "House Of Jade", "Deluge", "Mahjong", and "Yes Or No". CD

A perfect illustration of the rich new directions Wayne Shorter was taking at the start of the 70s – an amazing flurry of sounds and styles that's light years ahead of where he began in the 60s! Shorter's one of those players who was already great at the start – an amazing tenorist, both on his own and with the groups of Art Blakey and Miles Davis – yet by the time of this record, he'd absorbed a huge amount of influences from Brazilian music, modal jazz, the spiritual underground, and even the free European scene – all of which come to play on the long, complex tunes on the set! The record has Shorter working with some other key contemporaries of this new moment in jazz – John McLaughlin on 12 string guitar, Chick Corea on marimba and percussion, Dave Holland and Miroslav Vitous on bass, and Ron Carter on cello – all players who have the same open, exploratory vibe as Wayne's own lines on tenor and soprano sax. Titles include an excellent cover of Milton Nascimento's "Vera Cruz", plus the tracks "Antiqua", "Iska", and "Montezuma". CD

Beautiful – simply beautiful – one of the greatest Wayne Shorter albums for Blue Note, and one of our favorite jazz albums ever! The record is a masterpiece of lyrical delight – soul jazz mixed with slight touches of experimentalism – but still warm, swinging, and personal enough to captivate even the most novice jazz listener. A players are at the top of their game – and in addition to Shorter's tenor, the group features Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The tracks unfold in lyrical, modal beauty in a really wonderful way that was barely ever duplicated again – and titles include "Night Dreamer", "Oriental Folk Song", "Virgo", "Charcoal Blues", "Armageddon", and "Black Nile". CD features a bonus alternate take of "Virgo". CD

A very unusual album for Wayne Shorter – recorded right around that 1970 point when Duke Pearson was exploring formats for Blue Note artists that included larger, often electric arrangements, pointing the way towards some of the later 70s soul jazz work on labels like Kudu or CTI! This set, produced by Pearson, features Shorter as the main soloist on tenor and soprano sax – in a very hip group that includes Dave Friedman on vibes, Gene Bertoncini on guitar, Ron Carter and Cecil McBee on bass, and both Billy Hart and Alphonse Mouzon on drums. Tracks are long and complicated, with searching soulful arrangements that are part post-Miles fusion, part early 70s indie soul jazz – but balanced nicely without any sense of overindulgence at all. Shorter's soprano work is very nice, and much more angular than his playing on tenor – and titles include "Wind", "Joy", "Storm", and "Calm". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal album from this genius tenorist – a classic session from the late 60s that has Wayne Shorter pushing into a searching, spiritual groove, but one that's still filled with all the taught electricity of his earlier recordings on Blue Note! Shorter's accompanied by youthful modernists like James Spaulding on alto, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – plus the mighty Curtis Fuller on trombone, whose instrument here proves to be the same key extra ingredient that it was on the best Art Blakey sextet sessions of the 60s – bringing some deeper currents to the album that are completely sublime! There's a tight, soulful feel here that's sublime – an Adams Apple sort of groove, but a bit fuller – and titles include the classic "Tom Thumb", plus "Playground", "Schizophrenia", "Kryptonite", "Miyako", and "Go". CD

Insanely wonderful pre-Blue Note session that was recorded by Vee Jay in the early 60's, but was never released at the time. The set features a totally fantastic tight quartet with Art Blakey playing hard hard hard drums, Cedar Walton jamming on piano, and Shorter blowing away in a perfectly magical way on a bunch of great originals. The material's fantastic, the sound is great, and the whole thing's one of Shorter's best albums ever! This was supposed to be Shorter's 3rd album for the label, and who knows, it might have saved them and kept him away from Blue Note if it was released, but such was not the fate of the session – as it only ever came out on vinyl in this mid 70s release on the short-lived Vee Jay International label. Tracks include "Tenderfoot", "The Albatross", and "Ruby & The Pearl". CD

A great Wayne Shorter session from the mid 60s – recorded then, but not issued until 1979, for some incredibly unexplained reason – especially given the strength of the set! The group is distinctly modern, and features Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, James Spaulding on alto, and McCoy Tyner on piano – all of who were committed to heavily pushing the boundaries of their playing at the time. Added to the mix is the youthful Tony Williams on drums, fresh from work with Miles Davis, and playing with an incredibly free hand on the kit – plus the great Ron Carter on bass. The resulting mix of tracks is a beautiful example of how these mid-60s Blue Note sessions could keep firmly in touch with modern developments in jazz, yet never lapse into the kind of sloppiness that could sometimes ruin sets like these on other labels – always with a keen sense of timing and rhythm, and a sharpness that made Blue Note's "new" newer-sounding than most. Titles include "Lost", "Angola", "The Big Push", and an amazing jazz take on Sibelius' "Valse Triste"! CD also features a bonus alternate take of "Angola". CD

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! CD

A great title for this Wayne Shorter set – given the free flights and soaring lines served up throughout! There's no need for a net, since Wayne's hardly likely to touch the ground – really loose and free right from the start of the album – less driven by the rhythms than pulling them along with his own boundless energy on tenor and soprano sax! But the rhythm players are plenty great, too – and definitely add to the sound of the set – with Danilo Perez on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Brian Blade on drums – all players with just the right sort of boundless drive to match Shorter's imagination. The whole thing's great, less dark and obtuse than some of Wayne's other work of the past decade or so – and titles include "Orbits", "SS Golden Mean", "Plaza Real", "Flying Down To Rio", and the extended "Pegasus", which features a guest wind quintet! CD

A beautiful little album, very different than Wayne Shorter's other work, and sort of a "return of the favor" to the nation of Brazil for the country's rich musical influence on his music! Milton Nascimento sings vocals on most cuts, and if anything, the album resembles Nascimento's work of the mid 70s quite strongly – with similar airy arrangements and a very full, polished sound. Brazilian jazz musicians Airto, Roberto Silva, and Wagner Tiso play on the record – which also features work by Herbie Hancock. Titles include "Ponta De Areia", "Tarde", "Miracle Of The Fishes", "From The Lonely Afternoon", and "Ana Maria". CD

One of our top ten jazz albums of all time! Honest! This stunning session from 1960 not only coined the term "young lions" in jazz, but offers up a pack of them that any modern players would be hard-pressed to beat. Trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenorist Wayne Shorter, and pianist Bobby Timmons take a break from the Jazz Messengers to join altoist Frank Strozier in the frontline on this fantastic set of tracks that ring with a lyrical beauty hardly surpassed by any other hardbop album. Shorter wrote nearly all of the tracks, and the set list includes some of his best-ever work, like "Seeds Of Sin", "Scourin'", and "Peaches & Cream" – all beautiful tracks that are completely sublime. The group's completed by Bob Cranshaw on bass and Albert Heath on drums – and other titles include "Fat Lady", and "That's Right". If you buy one jazz album this year, let it be this one! CD

80s UK package deal that includes Affinity pressings of "Coltranology Vol 2", "Second Genesis", "The High & Mighty Hawk", "Big George", and "Young & Foolish". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album – one of our favorite Blue Notes ever! Despite the fact that the album's a spare quartet session, the record is one of Wayne Shorter's richest – and features his gutsy young tenor soloing insanely with a rhythmically intense combo that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – a wonderfully free-thinking rhythm trio! Workman's bass is especially strong, and it underpins the cuts with a throbbing pulse that takes them past any simple hardbop conventions. Every cut's a winner – and this is one album we reach for time and time again over the years! Titles include "Adam's Apple", "El Gaucho", "Footprints", and "Teru". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album – one of our favorite Blue Notes ever! Despite the fact that the album's a spare quartet session, the record is one of Wayne Shorter's richest – and features his gutsy young tenor soloing insanely with a rhythmically intense combo that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – a wonderfully free-thinking rhythm trio! Workman's bass is especially strong, and it underpins the cuts with a throbbing pulse that takes them past any simple hardbop conventions. Every cut's a winner – and this is one album we reach for time and time again over the years! Titles include "Adam's Apple", "El Gaucho", "Footprints", and "Teru". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album – one of our favorite Blue Notes ever! Despite the fact that the album's a spare quartet session, the record is one of Wayne Shorter's richest – and features his gutsy young tenor soloing insanely with a rhythmically intense combo that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – a wonderfully free-thinking rhythm trio! Workman's bass is especially strong, and it underpins the cuts with a throbbing pulse that takes them past any simple hardbop conventions. Every cut's a winner – and this is one album we reach for time and time again over the years! Titles include "Adam's Apple", "El Gaucho", "Footprints", and "Teru". CD features the bonus track "The Collector". CD

One of the most adventurous records we've heard from Wayne Shorter in years – a collection of live recordings made in Europe in the summer of 2001, featuring a free-thinking group that includes Danilo Perez on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Brian Blade on drums. The sound here is almost end-of-the-60s Shorter – as the tracks have an incredible amount of space, and might at times almost be dubbed "out". Shorter returns to his angular genius on tenor and soprano sax – crafting long, complicated lines that have a lot more edginess than we've heard from him in years! Titles include "Go", "Valse Triste", "Sanctuary", "Masquelero", "Footprints", and "Atlantis". LP, Vinyl record album

An album of incredible beauty – and one of the key early sides that Shorter cut for Blue Note! It's nearly impossible to describe the genius of these records without playing them – and upon playing, all words disappear in the brilliance of Shorter's incredible tone, solo imagination, and writing! There's a nascent soulfulness here that would emerge quite strongly across the field of jazz in the late 60s and early 70s – bubbling forth here on the session, with a sound that we could only call Shorter-archetypal – and return to again and again over the years, as proof that few players ever measured up as greatly at such a young age! The group's a quintet with Herbie Hancock on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the set list includes "Speak No Evil", "Infant Eyes", "Witch Hunt", and "Wild Flower". CD features a bonus alternate take of "Dance Cadaverous". CD

A great set of tracks that features Wayne's early work as a leader – all recorded for the Vee Jay label, either under his name, or with the Young Lions group. The material is fantastic, and is proof that even as a youngster, Wayne was one of jazz's best writers and players. Titles include "Seeds Of Sin", "Powder Keg", "Black Diamond", "Dead End", "Wayning Moments", "Down In The Depths", and "Moon Of Manakoora". Great stuff that we never see on vinyl anymore! LP, Vinyl record album

Genius, pure genius! Like all of Wayne Shorter's Blue Note sessions from the mid 60s, this album's a beautiful blend of hard bop ideas with a modern spiritual soulful consciousness – as important in its own way as Coltrane's work of the time – an incredible precursor for sounds from generations to come! Shorter's tenor solos are the main focus here, and he plays with creativity and imagination that you don't often hear on his later works – a sharp, soulful approach – but one that's already light years ahead of some of his Blue Note contemporaries – reaching for new ideas, but without any sense of effort – none of the overly-tense notes you'd get later, and instead just a marvelously fluid feel that really makes sense from the very first note – tremendous listening for both the lifetime jazz fan or the newcomer. McCoy Tyner plays piano, and Reggie Workman and Elvin Jones complete the group – and titles include "House Of Jade", "Deluge", "Mahjong", and "Yes Or No". LP, Vinyl record album

Pretty great – four sides of Wayne Shorter tunes, played by a trio with Kenny Barron on piano! LP, Vinyl record album

Features Dave Douglas on trumpet – with Chris Speed on tenor, Joshua Roseman on trombone, and Uri Caine on piano! CD

Includes the songs "I've Found A New Baby", "Pennies From Heaven", "I Didn't Know What Time It Was", "The Man I Love", "Just You, Just Me", "Mean To Me", "All Of Me", "Somebody Loves Me", "Lester Leaps Again", "That's All", and "I Want To Be Happy". CD

A beautiful jazz album from Brazilian arranger Antonio Adolfo – and a tribute to saxophone great Wayne Shorter, but done with a very personal feel! Adolfo's an artist with work that stretches back to the 60s – when he often worked with groovy larger arrangements – but in recent decades, he's become more and more of a jazz musician overall – to a point where he's got both the ear and talents to really open up the music of Wayne Shorter in this great small combo setting! The arrangements are quite inventive – very different than Antonio at the start, but also different than the usual takes on Shorter tunes too – and the group features a nice lineup that includes Lula Galvao on guitar, Jesse Sadoc on trumpet, Serginho Trombone on trombone, and Marcelo Martins on tenor and soprano sax. Despite the presence of a saxophonist in the group, Martins isn't always in the spotlight – as the guitar and piano almost seem to solo more – really opening up Shorter classics that include "Footprints", "Black Nile", "Speak No Evil", "ESP", "Prince Of Darkness", and "Beauty & The Beast". CD