Track Listing

1. Adam's Apple
2. 502 Blues (Drinkin' and Drivin')
3. Gaucho
4. Footprints
5. Teru
6. Chief Crazy Horse
7. Collector

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61347 in Music
• Brand: Wayne
• Released on: 2003-09-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

A+ for "Adam's Apple"
"Adam's Apple" finds tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter returning to a quartet setting after the avant-garde, multi-horn experiments of "The All-Seeing Eye" (see my review). Recorded during two sessions in February 1966, the album features Wayne with the rhythm trio of Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass and Joe Chambers on drums. These players all knew each other well as Wayne and Herbie had been members of the Miles Davis Quintet for more than a year, not to mention their prior Blue Note collaborations. Furthermore, Wayne and Reggie had both been in the Jazz Messengers in the early 60s, and Wayne had partnered with Joe Chambers on his previous two Blue Note sessions. All this added up to a great deal of musical rapport and chemistry that translated directly to the tunes. Of Wayne's three quartet albums for Blue Note, this is arguably the best. As great as "JuJu" and "Etc" are, they have their flaws -- "JuJu" comes off sounding a little too Coltrane-like (it's hard not to when you play with both McCoy and Elvin) while "Etc" was often uneven (it did sit in the vaults for years). With "Adam's Apple," Wayne had reached the pinnacle of his style and expression in modal jazz, and shortly he would go searching for new frontiers both with Miles and on his own. But at this stage in his career he simply gets an A+ for "Adam's Apple."

Wow!
Even if you don't have any of his records, you're probably familiar with Wayne Shorter's warm, yet introspective saxophone sound from his work with the Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis. Indeed, despite Wayne's endearing modesty, I don't think I'm alone in feeling that his solos often outshine Miles'.

Adam's Apple, Wayne's fifth album for Blue Note, is probably his most instantly enjoyable among a crop of spectacular recordings. First of all, Wayne is an imaginative and prolific composer. I rate the title track and El Gaucho among his finest tunes. Secondly, this LP has a funky swing guaranteed to set your feet dancing. It's one of those rare modal albums that's rich enough for the seasoned listener, but bops hard enough for the kids. Finally, Wayne is backed by superlative, forward-thinking musicians: Herbie Hancock, Reggie Workman, and Joe Chambers.

The sound quality on this RVG edition is pristine and it boasts a terrific bonus track by Hancock. Don't wait any longer than you have to, this baby merits rush delivery!

Classic Blue Note Record
Amongst Wayne Shorter's consistently excellent Blue Note recordings of the mid to late '60's, Speak No Evil gets the nod from most critics as the best record of the period, but I have always preferred the stripped down quartet sessions of Juju and this wonderful album. Joining Shorter (tenor sax only, no soprano) on this disc are Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass and Joe Chambers on drums. This session followed the classic Blue Note blueprint of the period, mixing the blues and ballads of hard bop with some of the emerging freedom of the period. There's some burning saxophone on the driving title track, abstract balladering of "501 Blues" and the epic soon-to-be-standard "Footprints" which would go on to be one of the most memorable jazz compositions of the post-war period.