Album of the week: Wayne Shorter - The All Seeing

[Jazzmoose]

Hell, it's still Saturday; I can sneak one more comment in...

Yeah, I love the drumming on this one myself, and I'm normally not that into the drumming enough to really care one way or the other.

[Rooster_Ties]

Just found my copy of "ASE" this morning, and I listened to it three times today.

What an incredible album!! I'll post more about it tomorrow, but I'll say this - I heard new things in it even the third time through.

5 stars!!!!

[Rooster_Ties]

Amazed at how much James Spaulding sounds like Jackie McLean, on the alto solo near the beginning of track 3 ("Chaos", I think).

Also, Joe Chambers is really a great asset to this band. In some ways, I think Joe is the quintisential Blue Note drummer, if you want to talk about 60's BN recordings.

Taking the album as a whole, (for me) it has the right mix of 'inside' and 'outside' sections. Even the quiet-but-free (rubatto) sections are really well integrated into the whole. Normally my attention tends to wander during the quiet/free/rubbato sections (when there isn't some sort of rhythmic plulse to 'hang on to'), but with "All Seeing Eye", they last just long enough to be interesting, but don't overwhelm the session.

The quiet solo-piano sections with Herbie, or maybe plus some occasional drums or bass - were *really* beautiful.

There are aspects of "All Seeing Eye" that seem almost like many orchestral works or symphonies. There's an ebb and flow between the various colors and moods, with transitions that build and release tension so seamlessly.

(IMHO), a brilliant album.

Did anyone get the feeling like this was a hugely collaborative effort?? I'm not saying anything should be taken away at all from Wayne, as the leader of this date, and composer of most of the tunes. Still, it reminded me of an intensely creative session where everyone gave 200%, and the results (which seem less like most typical "Wayne" BN albums), were such an organic combination of everyone's efforts.

( I'm not saying much of this clearly, as I'm up way-early, after daylight-savings-time kicked in. )

[AfricaBrass]

Did anyone get the feeling like this was a hugely collaborative effort?? I'm not saying anything should be taken away at all from Wayne, as the leader of this date, and composer of most of the tunes. Still, it reminded me of an intensely creative session where everyone gave 200%, and the results (which seem less like most typical "Wayne" BN albums), were such an organic combination of everyone's efforts.

I agree. It seems as if the participants in this session really gave it their all.

I love the drumming. It was so creative that I first thought it was Tony Williams.

I thought Herbies piano was very creative.

I thought Freddie shined. I especially love his solo on the first track.

I could say good things about them all.

:rsmile:

[Rooster_Ties]

In some ways, (apart from the song-writing credits), I could believe that any of the players (except maybe Hubbard) could have been leader on this date.

In other words, listening to the album - one doesn't get the sense that this is a Wayne album, but rather that is plausibly could have been a Herbie album, or a Moncur album, or even a Spaulding or Chambers album (remember all the Chambers compositions on all those Hucherson albums, especailly all of side 2 of "Components".)

In many ways, it's a little like various aspects of Wayne's, Herbie's, and especially Moncur's other albums.

I'm starting to think that "ASE" might be the best "outside" album in the whole BN catalog, at least in my opinion.

[Chuck Nessa]

Possibly interesting anecdote about "The All Seeing Eye." Soon after the record came out, I was in Chicago's Jazz Record Mart (the old W. Grand Ave. location) while the title track was being played in the store. Standing at the counter listening was Roscoe Mitchell, and during Freddie Hubbard's trumpet solo on (as I recall) the title track, Roscoe made one of those sub-verbal sounds that indicate intense approval. A bit surprised because I assumed he wasn't a big Hubbard fan, I said something along the lines of "You like Freddie Hubbard?" Roscoe replied, "No, man -- the drummer" (i.e. Joe Chambers).

I think I was the guy behind the counter, playing the record when this happened.

[Larry Kart]

You're right, Chuck. BTW, who's that distinguished-looking fellow in the photo? Look like he's about to endorse a single malt whiskey.