Wayne Shorter - Schizophrenia LP (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)

Blue Note, 1969

Between 1964-1967 the legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter created a treasured and deeply influential body of work within the acoustic jazz tradition with classic albums such as Night Dreamer, JuJu, Speak No Evil, and Adam’s Apple that presented Shorter’s brilliant and distinctive original compositions performed by various configurations of modern jazz masters. On 1967’s Schizophrenia Shorter arrived at the pinnacle of post-bop and gazed out at the horizons around him. A current of the avant-garde already coursed through his music and the next time he would enter the studio for Blue Note would be for his 1969 fusion exploration Super Nova. But in this moment, he produced one of his most complete and stylistically diverse artistic statements with a sextet of like-minded musical adventurers including James Spaulding on alto saxophone and flute, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums. The six-song set of original compositions includes several of Shorter’s most enduring themes including the unforgettable groove of “Tom Thumb,” the evocative “Go,” and the beautiful ballad “Miyako,” as well as Spaulding’s churning piece “Kryptonite.”