Etcetera

Personnel: Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Herbie Hancock (piano); Cecil McBee (bass); Joe Chambers (drums). Producer: Alfred Lion. Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on June 14, 1965. Includes liner notes by Michael Cuscuna. This is part of Blue Note's Limited Edition Connoisseur series. This mid 60's Blue Note date, after Shorter had already joined Miles Davis' great quintet of the time, reflects the saxophonist's expansion into wider realms of composition. After leaving Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Shorter's compositions slowly moved in the direction of the free-flowing, eclectic modal style that would be developed to its greatest degree in Davis' group. Here, however, Shorter's artistic vision is completely his own and his performance displays his unique creativity to the fullest. With Davis bandmate Herbie Hancock (piano), Cecil McBee (bass) and Joe Chambers (drums), ETCETERA is an often-overlooked jewel in the saxophonist's collection. The restrained title track opens the session with a brilliant yet cautious melody line that Shorter develops into an expressive solo spot, soon to be followed by an explosive statement by Chambers. The dusky ballad "Penelope" follows, gently flowing with burnished tones. The swinging "Toy Tune" is the most traditional sounding piece, but still displays Shorter's unique approach to chord structures and effortless melody lines. Gil Evans' "Barracudas (General Assembly)" creates the most tension in the set with repeated accent figures, obtuse chord progressions and Chambers' dynamic propulsion. Finally, the epic "Indian Song" is a commanding ending to this deeply moving set.