Wayne Shorter Seeing

The All Seeing Eye is the ninth jazz album by saxophonist Wayne Shorter, recorded on October 15, 1965, and released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4219 and BST 84219. The album features performances by Shorter with Freddie Hubbard, Grachan Moncur III, James Spaulding, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Joe Chambers with Shorter's brother Alan Shorter guesting on one track. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states: "it is clear from the start that the music on this CD reissue is not basic bop and blues… the dramatic selections, and their brand of controlled freedom has plenty of subtle surprises. This is stimulating music that still sounds fresh over three decades later".

With such titles as "The All Seeing Eye," "Genesis," "Chaos," "Face of the Deep," and "Mephistopheles," it is clear from the start that the music on this LP is not basic bop and blues. Wayne Shorter (who composed four of the five originals) picked an all-star cast (trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, altoist James Spaulding, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Joe Chambers, along with brother Alan Shorter on flügelhorn for the final song) to perform and interpret the dramatic selections, and their brand of controlled freedom has plenty of subtle surprises. This is stimulating music that still sounds fresh.

A classic mid-‘60s Blue Note selection from another living legend of our music: Juju (1965) features the stellar, one-time John Coltrane rhythm section of McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman and Elvin Jones; Speak No Evil (1966) is simply one of the all-time-great jazz albums, recorded with Wayne’s Miles Davis Quintet bandmates Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter; and its follow-up The All-Seeing Eye (1966) features some striking compositions in a highly unusual septet format.

Astell&Kern, the leading hi res portable music player that boasts studio sound quality, has announced a special package partnership with Blue Note Records to commemorate the record company's 75th anniversary in the world of Jazz and Blues. 75 legendary Blue Note jazz albums that have been remastered in the Hi-Res digital format. Especially, five Blue Note albums make their exclusive hi-res audio debuts with this release: Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers' Mosaic, Tina Brooks' True Blue, Don Cherry's Complete Communion, Andrew Hill's Point Of Departure, and Bobby Hutcherson's Components.

When producer Mary Ann Topper teamed Petrucciani with Hall in late 1985, it was a truly inspired choice. Hall, the consummate accompanist and thoughtful soloist, is the kind of player who can work with just about anyone and find a way to gracefully inject his own gentle presence. And if the Petrucciani/Hall pairing was inspiration, adding Shorter for the final three pieces of the performance was pure genius. Working together, on the strength of this Montreux performance recorded on July, 14, 1986, yielded the kind of incredible interplay that most musicians dream of. Hall's tone has always been warm, but blends an acoustic brightness that yields an incredible feeling of intimacy; regardless of where you are, you feel like you're sitting only a few feet away.