This was Shorter’s first album as a leader, originally issued on the Chicago label Vee Jay. He had just started to work regularly in jazz, first in Maynard Ferguson’s big band and, shortly afterwards, with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.
This early session was impressive and indicated what was to come with Wayne’s work in the second great Miles Davis quintet and his own fine Blue Note record dates in the 1960s.
There are five solid originals by Shorter and two alternate takes from the original session. Only Weill’s Mack The Knife has any pretense of being a standard. Blues A La Carte is a bouncy line with strong solos by Shorter and Lee Morgan, his front- line partner in the Messengers at the time.
Shorter was one of the finest composers and improvisers of hard-bop lines and this first effort is surprisingly strong and assured. Harry’s Last Stand is another well-structured line which begins with tight ensemble work by Morgan and Shorter. Wayne improvises impressively on his own composition followed by the contrasting staccato trumpet of his colleague Morgan. Chambers has a short arco burst and Cobb gets a workout towards the end. It was a good move to line up the current Miles Davis rhythm section in support.
Pug Nose is a typical slow to medium bop line, carefully played by the front line and moving into inventive tenor and trumpet solos. Wynton Kelly gets in some flowing, tasty piano solos here and throughout. Wayne went on to success and most likely a lot more money in Weather Report. I do question whether this lightweight but phenomenally successful jazz-fusion band was right for him and tend to think he could have made an even bigger contribution to the jazz mainstream, developing, and expanding what he started here. At any rate this is a highly impressive bop debut album. [Shorter returned to the all-acoustic format in his last several years, to substantial acclaim – Ed]
Discography
Blues A-La-Carte; Harry’s Last Stand; Down In The Depths; Harry’s Last Stand (24.57) – Pug Nose; Black Diamond; Mack The Knife; Blues-A-La-Carte (23.01)
Shorter (ts); Lee Morgan (t); Wynton Kelly (p); Paul Chambers (b); Jimmy Cobb (d). NYC, 9-10 November 1959.
Waxtime 722360
